multirotor pilot v1

3D Print your own FPV Quad... We show you how

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VOL 1, SUMMER 2014

SMALLEST QUAD IN THE UNIVERSE

ESTESPROTO X ESTESPROTO X

BLADE

RADIO CONTROL & ROBOTICS!MORE

Maplegate Media Group n 42 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT 06810 n Phone (203) 826-7557 n maplegatemedia.com

CLICKTO

SUBSCRIBE

WHAT’S INSIDE.

6 MULTIROTOR PILOT

FEATURES20 Regulations and Legalities regarding the use of UAV’s—by Lucien Miller

34 A closer look at Empire Hobby with Jack Burnside—by the editors of MultiRotor Pilot

63 Inside Atlanta Hobby with Cliff Whitney—by the editors of MultiRotor Pilot

80 Multirotors for Precision Agriculture—by Gene Payson

HOW TO18 3 Quick Tips for getting into Multirotors—by Alex Zvada

56 Install and set up a GPS/Compass Unitfor a DJI Naza-M V2—by Petr Hejl

59 Winter Flying Tips and Tricks—by Petr Hejl

PILOT REVIEWS12 Blade Nano QXBig fun in a micro package!—by Chris Reibert

16 Estes Proto XA full-function Quad that’ll fi t in your pocket…literally!—by Tony Phalen

22 Lynxmotion/RobotshopHunter V-Tail 400Aggressive looks with performance to match!—by Matt Maziarz

36 BLADE 350 QXFeature-rich, easy-to-fl y GoPro compatible quadcopter—by Joe Cannavo

40 HobbyKing X900 Tricopter with RC Logger FPV SystemA highly maneuverable, easy-to-transport FPV camera machine—by Joe Cannavo

46 Gaui 840H Hexacopter with DJI Wookong-MFlight, Camera, Action!—by Erick Royer

52 DJI Innovations Phantom 2 VisionHD video,FPV and more!—by Jacob Clackey

66 RC Logger RC Eye One ExtremeHold steady and look out!—by Greg Vogel

72 Feiyu Tech FY-G3 2-axis GoPro 3 gimbalRock-steady camera footage—by Joe Cannavo

74 Hextreme 550 FPV HexacopterHigh quality, fun to fl y FPV hex—by Matt Maziarz

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36

56

FIRST LOOK64 Eagle Tree Systems Vector FPV ControllerA fl ight controller built for pilots… by pilots—by Joe Cannavo

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT70 SONY Compact POV Action CamThe new aerial video/FPV camera on the block—by Joe Cannavo

79 Go Professional Custom Xtreme CasesDJI Phantom—by Erick Royer

PRODUCT REVIEW26 DJI Innovations Data Link and iPad Ground StationPortable control platform enables autonomous fl ight—by Joe Papa

60 DJI A2 Flight Controller—by Joe Papa

COLUMNS8 EditorialAn RC Industry First—by Erick Royer

10 From the .com

82 Return to home—by Matt Maziarz

46

70

79

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CUSTOM PROJECT28 Foldable 3D Printed FPV QuadcopterInexpensive FPV fun you can take anywhere—by Erick Royer

An RC Industry First

LIFT.OFF

You are holding in your hands the world’s fi rst magazine dedicated to multirotors, UAVs, FPV, aerial video and photography and more. We have assembled a team of experts in all facets of the multirotor hobby and

together we worked around the clock to bring you reviews, how-tos, cus-tom projects and more. It has been an exciting few months putting this issue together and we hope you enjoy it.

MULTIROTOR EXPLOSIONEvery day there are new multirotor products coming to market and trying to decide what to include for you in this fi rst issue of Multirotor Pilot magazine was not an easy task. When you couple that with all of the functional (and controversial) uses for multirotors, we could fi ll an entire magazine simply outlining them. Since our focus is on all areas of multirotors from the World’s smallest to the most expensive camera machines, from agricultural uses to FPV fun, we packed this fi rst issue with the latest and greatest content with something for everyone. In fact, we had so much material to share with you that we had to spill it over to our website, multirotorpilotmag.com. There you will fi nd exclusive web-only material as well as bonus supporting content for the articles within this issue.

LOTS OF 3D PRINTINGThe multirotor hobby lends itself to endless custom appli-cations, machines, accessories and more. 3D printing has open opened up to the masses with lower priced machines coming to market almost weekly. There is noth-ing better than sitting with a CAD program and in minutes designing a custom component for your multirotor, or as I did with the Custom Foldable FPV Quad (page 28), designing your own fl ying machine, then hitting ‘print’ and in a short time, your idea becomes a reality. The use of a 3D printer was invalu-able in this issue and we made the fi les for everything we designed available to you on the web… for FREE!

A SPECIAL THANK YOUI wanted to give a special “thank you” to everyone who contributed with this issue. Three people really went above and beyond and if it was not for their unbelievable efforts I am not sure how we could have done this; Joe Papa, Petr Hejl and Matt Maziarz… Thank you!!

We are anxious for your feedback, ideas and requests for what you would like to see in future issues; please email me at [email protected]. Additionally, please share your experiences, photos and video with us and we will try to use then in future issues and on our website. Thank you and Happy Flying

Erick RoyerExecutive Editorfacebook.com/multirotorpilot

E D I T O R I A LEditor-In-Chief GREG VOGEL

Executive Editor ERICK ROYERAssociate Editor MATT MAZIARZAssociate Editor TONY PHALEN

Technical Editor JOE PAPAChief Test Pilot PETR HEJL

Copy Editors SIRI WHEELER, JENNIFER RUSSELLEditorial Coordinator CINDI VANDEMARK

C O N T R I B U T O R S JOE CANNAVO, JACOB CLACKEY, LUCIEN MILLER,

GENE PAYSON, CHRIS REIBERT, ALEX ZVADA

A R T / D E S I G NDesign Director ALAN PALERMOArt Director VICTORIA HOWELL

Corporate Photographer WALTER SIDASStaff Illustrator DAVID BAKER

Web Developer and Design TONY PHALENWeb Content Manager JEFFREY WARNER

M A R K E T I N GConsumer Marketing Director NED BIXLER

Marketing Manager SIRI WHEELERHobby Shop Manager WHIT CAMPBELL

A D V E R T I S I N GAccount Executives LISA BLUMENSCHINE,

KEVIN ELSTON, GREG SMITHAdvertising Coordinator CINDI VANDEMARK

P R O D U C T I O NProduction Manager BOBBI-JO BALDWICK

P U B L I S H I N GPublisher SHARON WARNER

Associate Publisher NED BIXLEREditor-in-Chief GREG VOGEL

Executive Assistant to Publisher SIRI WHEELER

C O R P O R A T ECEO SHARON WARNER

President & Chief Financial Officer ELLEN BALLCorporate Editorial Content Director GREG VOGEL

PRINTED IN THE USA

8 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Multirotor Pilot (ISSN 2334-0827) Copyright 2014, all rights reserved

by Maplegate Media Group, 42 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury,

CT06810, USA.

MULTIROTOR PILOT

V O L U M E O N E 2 0 1 4

facebook.com/multirotorpilot

We packed as much multirotor content into this issue

as we possibly could, but we were still left with much

more to share with you. There are a lot of bonuses on

multirotorpilotmag.com including 3D printer fi les, additional photos

and video, FAA information and some exclusive web-only content

that did not make the magazine. Please visit the website and

“LIKE” our Facebook page facebook.com/multirotorpilot.

.INTERVIEW .REVIEWPetr Hejl talks with Rich Hanson, the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Director of Government Relations about the AMA’s role in working with the FAA and Congress on behalf of everyone that fl ies model aircraft to keep regulation away from the activity.

multirotorpilotmag.com/richhanson

Tarot T-2D Brushless Gimbal. Matt Maziarz takes an inside look at Tarot’s amazing and affordable brushless gimbal that is designed to work with multirotors like the DJI Phantom and Blade 350 QX.

multirotorpilotmag.com/t2d

The Gaui 840H Hexacopter is an amazing machine for aerial photography and videography. We made video shot from this machine available online as well as more information on the Sony NEX 6 and DJI Zenmuse 3-axis gimbal. We also have information on retract options for this machine on the page as well. We set this up as a Blog so we will be updating this page often as we use the 840H on different shoots.

multirotorpilotmag.com/840h

The HobbyKing X900 Tricopter is a great fl ying machine, but Erick Royer designed some custom 3D printed parts to make it even better. Additionally he shares the settings that he ended up with for the HKPilot Mega 2.5 fl ight

controller. Lastly, watch some video that was shot from the RC Logger FPV camera system.

multirotorpilotmag.com/x900

The Foldable 3D Printed FPV Quadcopter project turned out awesome. We made the .STL fi les available so you can print your own if you have access to a 3D printer. We also arranged with a local 3D printing service so you can order the parts if you don’t have access to a printer. Erick also has several accessories and mods in the works for this copter so please check out this page often for updates.

multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad

FROM THE .COM

Download the fi les for the 3D printed FPV monitor mount for the Spektrum DX18 transmitter

multirotorpilotmag.com/dx18mount

Rich Hanson

Read the FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57 which explains the operating standards of radio control aircraft for recreational purposes.

multirotorpilotmag.com/faa

10 MULTIROTOR PILOT

.BONUS CONTENT

Flip, roll, and zoom around any room of your house with the incred-ibly fun and agile Blade Nano QX.

At just 18 grams it’s one of the light-est quads in its class. At the center of this micro quadcopter is the proven AS3X Artifi -cial Stabilization System that gives the Nano QX its perfect balance of agility and stability for any pilot’s skill level. It’s unbelievably durable too, (my cat loves to a ack it) so you can fl y aggressively without worrying about costly repairs if you are just learning to fl y. OUT OF THE BOX

The Blade Nano QX BNF comes in a smaller box than the RTF version. When you open the box you fi nd the Nano packed in a formed plastic insert to prevent shifting dur-ing transportation. The box serves as a great travel case for the Nano QX. In the BNF ver-

sion you will fi nd a 1S USB LiPo ba ery charger, E-fl ite 1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C LiPo ba ery, extra canopy and blades, and the manual. The RTF version comes in a bigger box housing the additional Spektrum MLP-4DSM 4-channel DSMX transmi er and four “AA” ba eries.

Includes:• Fully assembled and fl ight-ready Blade Nano QX• 1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C LiPo ba ery• Compact USB LiPo ba ery charger• Assortment of extra rotor blades • Spare green Nano QX body

SETUP

I chose the BNF version of the Nano QX because it allows me to use my own DSMX/DSM2 radio so I will be able to fi ne tune the

quads fl ight characteristics. I chose to use my new Spektrum DX9 as my fl ight radio. After charging the ba ery it was time to bind the quad to the radio, which was as easy as plugging the fl ight ba ery into the quad, turning on my radio while holding the bind bu on until you see the blinking light go solid and then releasing the bu on. The entire process takes less than a minute. Con-

NANO QXBLADE

Big fun in a micro package!

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Blade

DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon Hobby

TYPE: Micro quadcopter

FOR: Everyone

PRICE: BNF $69.99, RTF $89.99

12 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Author’s OpinionThe Nano QX is a really fun micro quad

that anyone can learn to fl y basically

anywhere. The Nano QX weighs a lit-

tle more than half an ounce and is small

enough to fl y in spaces no bigger than

an offi ce cubicle. If you have never fl own

a quadcopter before, the Nano QX is

just right for you. With its SAFE Technol-

ogy system it gives any beginner stability

control to allow it to virtually fl y by itself.

If you get into trouble, well just let go of

the sticks, and relax. The SAFE Technol-

ogy system will bring the Nano QX back

to a hover all by itself. Once you’ve mas-

tered the basics, you can switch the

SAFE system to agility mode for faster

fl ying speeds and more maneuverability.

Coming in at just $69.95, all I had to do

was charge the battery and bind and fl y!

PILOT REVIEWby Chris Reibert

By Horizon Hobby

MULTIROTOR PILOT VOLUME ONE 13

sult your manual if you have any questions about the binding process. With the radio bound it was time for the initial test fl ight to make sure all the motors were moving in the correct direction. I slowly increased the thro le and got the micro quad into a hover to test all directional controls. I was quite impressed with how stable it was right out of the box and how very li le trimming it needed. Everything seemed smooth and, with li le adjustment, you can get a hands- free hover. This is due to the 4-in-1 board that incorporates the DSM2/X RX, ESC, ser-vos, and AS3X 3-axis MEMS gyro. The AS3X system is an exclusive electronic and setup enhancement that combines multi-axis sen-

sors and state-of-the-art software that helps make fl ight smoother and more stable.

SAFE TECHNOLOGY

SAFE stands for Sensor Assisted Flight Enve-lope and is the central nervous system to the excellent performance the Nano QX off ers. Even new pilots will feel comfortable with the Nano QX in stability mode because SAFE will make sure the Nano is always in control and in an upright orientation. You will feel an immediate sense of confi dence and be fl ying around like a pro in no time. After one bat-tery, my brother was a pro behind the sticks of the Nano because SAFE makes RC fl ight easier than ever before. Far beyond stability,

progressive performance options mean pilots can choose to develop with a greater degree of security and fl ight control. The result is that beginners have a far more relaxing learning experience and experts get outstanding control with protection benefi ts accessible at the fl ip of a switch.

Stability Mode – In this mode, you will get auto self leveling to keep the Nano QX fl ying upright for beginners. How it works is that it monitors pitch and bank angle lim-its to prevent any extreme

SPECSFLYING WEIGHT: 0.63 oz. (18 g)

LENGTH: 5.5 in. (140mm)

HEIGHT: 1.18 in. (30)

ROTOR DIAMETERS: 1.97 in. (50.0mm)

RADIO: Spektrum DX9

ON-BOARD ELECTRONICS: 4-in-1 DSMX Receiver/

ESCs/mixer/SAFE sensor unit

MOTORS: Powerful 6mm brushed motors

BATTERY: 1Sl 3.7V 150mAh 25c LiPo battery

CHARGER: USB LiPo charger 350mAh

DURATION: 4-6 min

MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Offi ce cubicle

NEEDED TO COMPLETE: BNF requires a DSM2/

DSMX transmitter

FEATURES Exclusive SAFE Technology with Stability

and Agility modes

Small enough to fl y in any room or offi ce

Tough, lightweight airframe with blade guards

Powerful brushed motors that provide smooth

and powerful lift

4-in-1 DSMX Receiver/ESCs/mixer/SAFE sensor unit

Includes E-fl ite 1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C Li-Po Battery

Includes compact USB LiPo battery charger

PROS Fully assembled

Inexpensive

Two fl ight modes

SAFE technology

AS3X Artifi cial Stabilization Technology

CONS Plastic is thin so beware of hard crashes

Brushed motors won’t last forever

Requires USB power source for charger

Object bumpers

Powerful 6mm brushed motors

4-in-1 DSMX Receiver/ESCs/mixer/SAFE sensor unit

PILOT REVIEW I BLADE NANO QX

14 MULTIROTOR PILOT

or unusual a itudes changes when the sticks are released. Not only will the Nano QX return to level fl ight but it actually slows the quad and returns it to a stable hover.

Agility Mode – This mode is a fun “3D type” mode. Choose this to perform loops, rolls, fl ips and graceful aerobatics. Agility

mode removes all fl ight envelope protec-tion and the Nano QX can be fl own more aggressively. There are no limits on pitch and bank angles and no self-leveling. That means game on.

THE LAST WORD

This li le quad comes in a small package but packs a big punch. I was impressed from the second I put it into its fi rst hover in my hobby room. I really enjoy fl ying this micro around the house and would highly recommend it to anybody looking to make the transition from a coaxial helicopter to something more maneuverable. It is very fast and responsive in agility mode but when you want it dialed down, kick it back into stability mode for a great docile trainer. If you feel you want something a li le bit bigger and more stable, check out the Blade 350 QX, Blade’s new camera-carrying quad which is great for aerial photography. Enjoy and see you at the fi eld. �

CONTACTSBLADE bladehelis.comPERFORMANCE HOBBIES performance-hobbies.com SPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com

For more information, please see our source guide on page 81.

This little micro has the look of a fl ying spider. It hovers very smooth and with normal fl ying you can get a four-minute fl ight out of the small 1S LiPo. At $2-$6 per battery, the Nano QX can give you fl ight after fl ight without breaking the bank. This little bug has the fl ight characteristics as its bigger quad siblings as to how it is controlled. I was doing circuits all around my living room and kitchen, driving my cat crazy just minutes after opening the box.

Forward Flight – It tracked straight and true right out of the box. I have fl own a few FP type hel-icopters over the years and, bar none, this is the most responsive and yet aggressive trainer to date. Stable when you want a slow solid hover and right into fast forward fl ight with the push on the cyclic stick.

Tricks – Don’t let its small size fool you. With confi dence and the help of agility mode you will be spinning and fl ipping in no time. I was impressed how quick it would fl ip and roll. With its small size it is also fun to try different types of take offs, like kicking it into the air like a hacky sack or throwing it like a Frisbee and fl ying away. It doesn’t matter how it is put into the air, even thrown inverted, the SAFE Technology will upright it into a hover in just seconds.

Flight Times – Flight times averaged around 4-5 minutes with the stock 150mAh bat-tery packs but I was able to stretch out a lit-tle more fl ight time and power using the Hyper-ion 160mAh 30c packs. The packs are very inex-pensive and having a handful will not break the bank. I tried number of different batteries and all held up well in the Nano QX.

IN THE AIR

PROTO XESTES

16 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PILOT REVIEWby Tony Phalen

A full-function Quad that’ll fit in your pocket ...literally!

Lifting off for a quick jaunt around the dining room table. “Ma…..can you please pass the mashed pota-toes or do I have to land this thing on your dinner plate?”

The little quadcopter is easy to fl y, even for the most novice pilots. Case in point…car guy with trigger fi nger up and fl ying great in no time fl at!

When trimmed out properly on a fully charged pack, the Proto X will hover in place with almost no stick commands. That’s pretty impressive for a $40.00 quad!


Upon initial inspection of the Proto X when it arrived at my house, I was amazed at just how small it actually

was. I read some pre-release specs and reviews of it, and was anxious to see how well it would perform given its small size. The quality and construction of this diminutive quad is very good considering its price. The transmi er on the other hand, left a li le to be desired since it was so small, but I reserved my fi nal judgment until I had completed a fl ight or two.

IN THE AIR

Being a fella who is not terribly dependent on his PC, I wasn’t all that happy about a USB-only charger, but after fl ying the quad, it was worth the eff ort trekking back to my PC to recharge. Within 15 minutes or so, the li le red light on the cord went out, sign-aling that it was time for the maiden fl ight. Powering up the transmi er fi rst, I fl ipped the switch on the Proto X and was instantly dazzled by the LED lights that adorn the four corners as well as the front of the can-opy. Blue lights up front and reds in the rear off er a highly visible way to gain orientation of the li le machine. Once the lights went from blinking to solid, it was ready to go. Since the Proto X is so small, I thought I might have a tough time dealing with ground eff ect, so I mashed the thro le. Surprisingly, the li le quad lurched upwards and almost rebounded off of the ceiling in my living room. The micro quad was perfectly trimmed right out of the box and would hang in place with almost no corrections. A few piroue es had me quickly grinning at the stability it off ered. I was amazed at how well this li le Estes machine performed. Not only were fi g-ure eights and funnels predictable and easy, but they were fun as well and had me smiling from ear to ear. Another aspect of the Proto X that sur-prised me was the overall fl at-line speed.

It may be small in size, but it’ll turn a large room into a closet if you’re not careful with high-speed maneuvers. In this aspect, I quickly gained a good deal of respect for its durability. A few brushes with the wall and even a slow spinning ceiling fan had me chopping the thro le, sending the lit-tle buzz saw tumbling to the ground. Each time, the li le quad brushed off the crash and was right back up in the air. I did man-age to send one of the props fl ying across the room, but a quick press fi t and she was back in action. Estes provides a spare set of props in the box. If you need to change the props, be sure to note the le er markings on each of them so as to use the proper rotation when replacing one.

THE LAST WORD

I have to admit; when I fi rst saw the Proto X I did not imagine that it would do any of the things it was advertised to do so well. Boy was I wrong! This li le bugger is a hoot to fl y, is durable as any quad out there and is backed by a full line of replacement parts. The transmi er is a bit on the small side, making minute adjustments a li le tricky at fi rst, but I got used to it in no time. An addi-tional bonus to the Proto X was the fact that I could use the transmi er that Estes includes with its larger sibling, the Dart, making the feel of the sticks much more familiar than the stock transmi er. All in all, I’d say Estes knocked this one out of the park and I’m sure there will be many, many of these li le machines fl ying off the shelves! �

CONTACTS ESTES estesrockets.com HOBBICO hobbico.com


» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Estes

DISTRIBUTOR: Hobbico, Inc.

TYPE: Quadcopter

FOR: Beginners

MINIMAL FLYING AREA: Indoor small spaces

PRICE: $39.99

NEEDED TO COMPLETE/GEAR INCLUDED:

2 “AAA” batteries for the transmitter

SPECSFLYING WEIGHT: 11.5g

LENGTH: 45 x 45mm

HEIGHT: 24mm

PROPELLER DIAMETER: 30mm

RADIO: Estes four-channel 2.4GHz

MAIN MOTOR: (4) micro brushed

BATTERY: 100mAh 3.7V LiPo

CHARGER: USB charge cord

DURATION: 3-4 minutes

PROS Tiny size means fl ights can be performed in the

most confi ned spaces

Multi-colored LED lights to gain orientation as

well as cool factor

At forty bucks RTF, you really can’t go wrong

Available replacement parts for everything

except the main frame/board

CONS

USB-only charge lead included

Teeny, tiny transmitter

Author’s OpinionWhen I fi rst saw the images of the Proto X prior to its release, I couldn’t believe that the little machine was for real and if so, that it would actually fl y well and/or be any fun to operate. Seriously, the spy shots that Estes released featured the tiny machine next to a quarter (as in a quarter dollar) for size comparison. The transmitter looks like a cheap knock-off video game controller as well, but hey, it’s forty bucks so there’s really nothing to lose either way.

To illustrate its size, the Proto X is parked right next to a quarter along with its controller.

Considering I am fairly new to the RC hobby, I fi gured a

good article topic for the fi rst issue of Multirotor Pilot magazine would be tips on choosing your fi rst mul-tirotor. I am rather experienced in this area considering that I have been building and fl ying multi-rotors for a li le bit over a year. Luckily for you, I have made all the common mistakes that a novice can encounter and I have compiled three of my top tips for ge ing started and to keep in mind as you embark on your multirotor journey.

1START SMALL While working at FliteTest.com, I am often asked the question, “I want to

build an FPV/GPS-equipped super awesome long range aerial cinema-tography multicopter, but know nothing about fl ying or RC. What should I do?” Instead of trying to answer such a loaded question, I simply respond by recommend-ing that they start small. One of the main things to keep in mind when ge ing into multirotors is that they are not very forgiving. There is no glide slope, there are a lot of vari-

ables, and if anything goes wrong there is a 99 percent chance that your multirotor is going to plum-met to the ground like a rock…a very fragile rock. I learned about fl ight controls and the characteristics of multi-rotors on a Syma X1, which is an inexpensive quadcopter that can be found for less than $40. Currently, my favorite micro quad is by far the Blade Nano QX (see the review in this issue). The main reasons I rec-ommend starting small is because the smaller the copter, the more for-giving it is. Yes, it still will drop like a rock if you have any kind of malfunction; however, these micro quads are extremely light-weight and durable, meaning they are designed to take a hit. Also, the RTF and BNF micro quads come right out of the box perfectly dialed in and require no tuning. This is important because it lets you feel how a properly-tuned multirotor should feel when it is fl ying. This leads me to my next tip.

2PICK YOUR BATTLES As far as I am concerned, there are three main learning

curves you will need to over-come when ge ing into the great hobby of multirotors. These hur-

dles include learning to build a multirotor, learning to dial in a multirotor and learning to fl y a multirotor; all of which are fairly overwhelming. That being said, I think it’s safe to say that most peo-ple want to get in the air as soon as possible. Starting with a small, out-of-the-box quad eliminates you from having to worry about learning building techniques and se ing parameters like P and I lim-its and gains and lets you focus on learning fl ying techniques and characteristics. Then once you are comfortable with fl ying the micro quad, you can focus on learning how to build and tune a custom or kit-based multirotor. When it comes time to maiden your cus-tom craft, you will have an idea of how it should perform. I am not going to sugar-coat this either; you will fail and perhaps often. But this is a good thing because you learn the most when you fail. The more you have to repair, the more you learn.

3LEARNING TO FLY I would recommend learning to fl y “line of sight” before you even

worry about ge ing into FPV. Even though I fi nd FPV easier to fl y then LOS, it is still a good idea to be able

18 MULTIROTOR PILOT

by Alex Zvada

HOW TO

3 Quick Tipsfor Getting into MultirotorsAlex Zvada is a prod-

uct specialist and graphic

designer at FliteTest.com

He is responsible for man-

aging and maintaining their

product stock, packaging,

quality assurance, online

marketing, creative design

solutions and even runs a

camera for the show. He

is also heavily relied on

for product testing due to

his rigorous “tests” that

he puts all of his RC prod-

ucts through. Alex has been

focusing hard on learning

to shoot aerial video for the

show, which he really loves.

Blade Nano QX quadcopters are a great machine for learning how to fl y.


to fl y a pa ern, towards yourself, and away. That way if you have an FPV failure, you will be able poten-tially save your craft and bring it in for a landing. Take it slow on your maiden and also as you get more comfortable fl ying your quad. Start out by hovering, then once you can hold a hover, start exper-imenting with pitch and roll by using the right stick (on a mode 2 transmi er) and only use the rud-der to keep the front of the craft facing away from you. This will get you familiar with all of the controls without having to worry about ori-entation. Use the rudder as needed

to keep it facing away from you. Once you get comfortable fl ying this way, you are ready to begin learning how to fl y in a pa ern. If you haven’t crashed yet, this is more than likely when you will. Begin by leaving your hover and gaining forward momentum. Then when you are ready to make your fi rst circle pa ern, use both sticks simultaneously to roll and yaw the multirotor at the same time while maintaining pitch to continue in smooth forward movement. Con-tinue to maintain your pitch roll and yaw until you have completed a full circle. If you feel that you are

starting to lose orientation, quickly apply rudder to yaw the copter back to facing away from you and then back it back to you as you should be comfortable fl ying away from yourself at this point.

THE LAST WORD

There are lots of other things to learn as you progress but these are my top three tips, from one noob to another, that will ensure you have a successful start on your journey into radio control multiro-tors. Don’t get discouraged when

you crash; consider each crash a learning experience and you will come away a much be er pilot. Share your experiences and memo-ries with someone you care about! Happy fl ying friends. �

CONTACTSBLADE bladehelis.comFLITE TEST fl itetest.com


The FliteTest guys are having a blast fl ying the Blade Nano QX. From left to right: Chad Kapper, Josh Bixler, David Windestal and Alex Zvada.

The Nano QX may be small but it offers big fun!

20 MULTIROTOR PILOT

by Lucien Miller

T here is a tremendous amount of discussion these days regarding the regulations and legalities surrounding the use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The biggest problem thus far is that the

technology is advancing so quickly, that it is virtually impossible to keep up with it. Advancements in fl ight controller boards, GPS systems, data-link telemetry and in-fl ight camera systems have come about so rapidly in the past fi ve years that it is now possible to build a fully autonomous UAV for under $1000. Figure 1 shows a small multirotor aircraft that fi ts this description. For hobbyists and budding entrepreneurs, this is an amazing time of technological opportunity, but for regulatory agencies such as the FAA, it is akin to the opening of Pandora’s Box! Before anyone straps a camera on their multirotor, airplane or helicopter and decides to start making a living doing commercial aerial photography, there are a few things you need to know about the rules and regulations that govern the operation of these aircraft . First and foremost, when any radio controlled model is operated under the guidelines of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) it must be done for “Recreational Purposes Only.” This means for the fun and enjoyment of fl ying only. FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57 (view at multirotorpilotmag.com/faa) explains all of the operating standards of model aircraft for recreational purposes. The moment you get paid for fl ying, or perform fl ight in the furthering of a commercial enterprise, you are no longer doing it for recreational purposes and fall under the guidelines of a commercial operator. Many pilots make the mistake of thinking that if they do not get paid for the services they are providing then they are operating legally. Unfortunately, this is not the way the FAA sees it. If you are providing a service for someone as part of a commercial venture, even if you do not get paid, the FAA considers it a commercial operation. For example, if you do some aerial photography of a home for a real estate agent and that agent then uses those photos or videos in the promotion of the property, even if you did not get paid to take the pictures, the real estate agent is in the process of conducting a commercial transaction, thus making the fl ight illegal under FAA guidelines. As far as the FAA is concerned, in order to “Fly for compensation,” you must possess a commercial pilot’s certifi cate and be operating in compliance with Part 119 of the Federal Air Regulations. Current regulations of the FAA do not recognize a diff erence between manned and unmanned aircraft , but there are some diff erences

that need to be noted. First is the fact that to be able to operate a UAV or sUAS in the United States, you must apply for and receive a Certifi cate of Authorization or COA through the FAA. As of right now, these certifi cates are only granted to federal, state or local government agencies and they restrict fl ight to specifi c geographical areas. Each COA granted is exclusive to the aircraft being fl own and to the geographical location where the operations will take place. In most cases fl ights are performed below 400 feet above ground level (AGL), limited to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), limited to daytime operation under visual fl ight rules (VFR conditions) and must be conducted at least fi ve miles away from any active airports. As many people know, the FAA and the AMA have been working together for several years to establish a completely new set of rules and guidelines to govern the use of the smaller segment of UAV and sUAS aircraft . There are discussions currently taking place that split the smaller aircraft into four distinct categories based on fl ying weight. At the bott om end of the scale are the machines that weigh

less than two kilos (4.4 pounds). Next are the machines that are above two kilos but below fi ve kilos (between 4.4 and 11 pounds). Above that are the machines that weigh between fi ve kilos and 25 kilos (between 11 and 55 pounds) and the largest class that weigh between 25 and 150 kilos (between 55 and 330 pounds). Anything above

330 pounds is no longer considered a Small Unmanned Aerial System. The majority of the machines that any modelers will be fl ying will be in the bott om two categories, weighing less than 11 pounds. However, many people today are fl ying large Octocopters with cinematography-grade cameras and large batt ery packs, tipping the scales in the 25 to 30 pound range when fully outfi tt ed. An example of this type of craft is shown in Figure 2. Something of this size could cause serious and potentially lethal injuries to people on the ground if something failed causing the craft to fall out of the sky and hit someone. Likewise, if a craft of this size got to above 500 feet in altitude and came into contact with a light plane or helicopter that was fl ying at the minimum recommended altitude under FAA guidelines, the results could be catastrophic. For several years now, people have been operating “Under the Radar” here in the United States concerning commercial uses of RC helicopters, airplanes and multirotors. The primary use of these aircraft has been for aerial photography and video purposes in a wide range of applications including, roof inspections, real

Regulations and Legalities

Figure 1


Regarding the use of UAV’sestate photography, motion picture fi lming, TV commercials, agricultural inspections and infrastructure inspections as well as a multitude of other uses. Many people have been quietly operating this way for years, but we have all heard of cases were someone gets caught performing these operations; quickly eliciting a cease and desist lett er from the FAA. In order to avoid these issues, most motion picture companies and TV producers are simply operating outside of the United States, where the regulations are either more relaxed or non-existent, in eff orts to use this technology to their advantage. One of the main stumbling blocks in the furthering of this technology is the fact that the FAA has been extremely slow in making rulings on these issues. Several years ago, the FAA stated that they would release their Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in October of 2011. It was then pushed back to January of 2012. Later, aft er much debate, the NPRM was pushed back once again to December of 2013. That date has now come and gone resulting in the NPRM being delayed again until September of 2015. On February 5th, 2014, the FAA admitt ed that they would not be able to meet this deadline either. This continual delay of gett ing the FAA to make decisions on the subject has not only stifl ed progress in the industry, but has also lead to an increasing number of people operating in the absence of regulations. Earlier this year, on January 11th, The AMA and FAA entered into an agreement to establish a platform on which the AMA and FAA would work together to ensure continued safe operation of model aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS). On the main stage at the 2014 AMA convention in Ontario, California, James Williams, Executive Manager of the FAA Unmanned Systems Integration offi ce and AMA President, Bob Brown, signed the memorandum of understanding and pledged to work together to resolve the safe integration of aircraft into the NAS. Figure 3 shows James Williams and Bob Brown aft er signing the documents at the AMA Show. One thing that we all need to do during this time is to heavily police ourselves, making sure that nothing is done to cast a negative light on the operation of small UAV systems here in the United States. If a radio control model is used to fi lm a large sporting event and something happens that causes the craft to crash into a crowd of people severely injuring or killing someone, all the hard work that has been done so far concerning fl ight regulations could be reversed in an instant.

From a personal perspective, I believe that in order to go forward, a new class of commercial pilot licenses needs to be created by the FAA. Something such as a “UAV Operators Permit” or “Commercial UAV Pilots License” would be a great way of weeding out the true professionals from the weekend warriors. This license would need to include all of the airspace, weather and regulatory knowledge required for a traditional commercial pilot’s license, but without requirement for actual in-cockpit fl ight time. Instead, the pilot would need to show fl ying competence, and maintain a logbook with a minimum required number of fl ight hours to be able to qualify. In addition to the basic Commercial UAV Pilots License, there should also be “Type Ratings” based on the various types of aircraft that would be fl own such as helicopter, multirotor and fi xed-wing type aircraft . The fact that each of these aircraft types requires diff erent fl ying skills, it would be important that the pilot be checked out in each type of aircraft in order to operate commercially. Pilots would need to show competency in fl ying the type of aircraft and be reviewed on a regular basis, similar to the bi-annual fl ight reviews that private pilots must undergo in order to keep their pilots licenses current. Operating in this manner would establish a set of standards that the FAA should be comfortable with. The only way that the FAA is going to accept operation of small UAV’s in the National Airspace System is if they can be assured that it will be done in a safe and well regulated manner that does not create any hazards to manned aircraft that may be operating in the general

vicinity, or to bystanders that are on the ground, under the craft being fl own. Going forward, we all must work together to insure that our aircraft are operated in a safe and ethical manner and that nothing is done that may jeopardize the many years of hard work that have already taken place. Hopefully, the AMA and FAA can work together and iron out a program that will allow a slow controlled integration of our small UAV systems into the NAS in a way that works for everyone involved. Only time will tell. �

Figure 2

Figure 3

In late 2011, a fella referred to as Bledi (his screen name on a

multitude of multirotor forums) contacted Eric Nantel at Robotshop.com. Bledi had designed a prototype V-tail platform that he was already fl ying, but was seeking assistance for a professional design to bring his quadcopter to the masses. Aft er days, weeks and hours of design, DialFonZo (Eric Nantel)

came up with the Hunter V-tail 400. The unique compilation of a G-10 fi berglass frame coupled with the V-tail confi guration and reversed motors in the rear off ered a platform that widened the fl ight envelope possibilities of multirotor fl ight. Up to this point, the industry had widely been concentrating on the stability aspect of multi-prop machines, focusing on the arena of aerial photography platforms.

LYNXMOTION/ROBOTSHOP

Aggressive looks with performance to match!

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Lynxmotion/RobotShop

DISTRIBUTOR: Lynxmotion

TYPE: V-Tail quadcopter

FOR: Advanced pilots

MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Any outdoor fl ying area

PRICE: $369.00 (Base combo kit including everything except props, battery, charger

and radio system)

NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Minimum fi ve-channel transmitter, receiver, battery, charger and props (using the base

combo kit). Lynxmotion also offers the Hunter as an airframe only or with all the

electronics minus the control board.

22 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Hunter V-Tail400

PILOT REVIEWby Matt Maziarz

PHOTOS BY WALTER SIDAS

SPECSFLYING WEIGHT: 31 oz. (879g)LENGTH: 309mmHEIGHT: 98mmWIDTH: 340mm ROTOR BLADE LENGTH: 8 in. (206mm)MOTORS: (4) Maytech 1000Kv brushless outrunners ESC’S: (4) Maytech 12amp ESCsRADIO: Spektrum DX7S transmitter and Spektrum AR600 receiver FLIGHT CONTROLLER: Multiwii Flip 1.5 BATTERY: Thunder Power 11.1V 2250mAh 45C LiPoDURATION: 5-6 minutes

PROS Awesome looks coupled with great perfor-

mance

Double-deck frame and arms with a simplistic design means durability

Lightweight for aerobatic maneuvers and high speeds

Airframe will accommodate a multitude of electronics and motors

CONS Small platform offers little room for camera

mounting…if you’re into that sort of thing

Instructions are a bit lacking


Bledi and Eric worked together to come up with a machine that would off er aerobatic abilities while still retaining the stability of such earlier designs courtesy of a multi-function control board. Marketing such a design was made possible through the merger of two distinct robotics companies. In 2012, RobotShop acquired Lynxmotion, combining what were essentially the two largest names in consumer robotics in North America. To that point, the joint union focused solely on surface-based machines that included rovers, bipeds and robotic arms to name a few. Mario Tremblay, owner of RobotShop then reached out to DialFonZo-Copter owner and designer, Eric Nantel, to expand the company’s off erings to include multirotors of various design, thus solidifying their spot near or at the top of the UAV realm.

SETUP

Upon opening the box for the Hunter V-tail 400, my fi rst impression was one of amazement that they could fi t such a complex machine, complete with almost all the electronics in such small packaging. The sandwich style, modular frame allows for a small box, but had me

frett ing at the prospect of the build. Further review revealed no printed instructions, but a handy cheat sheet was included that clued me in to the fact that the build instructions were easily downloaded from the Lynxmotion website. While not comprehensive, the online manual is easily expanded for detailed view, making for a quick and easy assembly of the main frame. Right below the link for the mechanical build of the airframe, there is a section for the electronics setup, which was not an active link at the time of writing this review. As I mentioned before, this machine is so new, that Mr. Nantel was in the process of writing

the online manual concerning the electronics

portion of the build at the same time I

was assembling his machine. He

graciously forwarded me the prototype manual as well as his contact info so that he would be able to provide me with the necessary insight, wherever the manual might be lacking. I must admit, I had a great deal of trouble trying to get the Flip 1.5 control board programmed initially, but Nantel was instrumental in guiding me through the setup

process. He suggested that there is a steep learning curve when trying to

navigate the soft ware for the Multiwii based boards, but once you’ve done it a time or two, the setup tools basically take you through the process step by step. It is also important to reiterate the fact that a comprehensive

Author’s OpinionThe Hunter V-Tail 400 is a futuristic-looking machine that brings to mind visions of sci-fi movies and/or video games. The unique design of the V-Tail features bottom facing, diagonally opposed props in the rear and a streamlined frame. This quad lends itself more towards aerobatics than an aerial photography platform. Aggressive looks coupled with a lightweight frame means I’ve fi nally got my hands on a machine that will perform a host of maneuvers that most multirotors can only dream of.

Notice the orientation of the Flip 1.5 control board. The USB port is fac-ing forward and is easily accessed from the nose of the machine even with the top deck in place.

The V-Tail 400 looks lean and mean just sitting on the ground and I was anticipating similar fl ight characteristics once I got it into the air. With the throttle at zero, giving full right rudder arms the motors and brings the props up to idle. Gradually increasing the throttle had the machine gently lifting off the ground and into a stable hover. Being as cold as it is in these parts in the winter months, I opted for testing my machine in an empty offi ce space in the same building as our offi ce. While the initial fl ight seemed good and the V-Tail was stable, the tail seemed a bit twitchy in that it was bobbing up and down a bit. I powered it down and re-established a USB connection between the board and my PC, using the Multiwii confi guration table to lower the gain on the board. Problem solved, the Hunter was now rock solid when in the air, requiring very little input to keep it in place. Time to pack on a few more layers, grab a fully charged pack and bribe someone into heading out with me for camera duty. I popped the V-Tail into the air to get familiar with its fl ight characteristics before any pics would be captured. Hovering twenty feet or so in the air, I gave it full down elevator while compensating for the decreased lift with a bit more throttle. The machine took off like a cannon ball, quickly achieving speeds of an F1 pylon racer from a dead stop. Thankfully a backdrop of snow-covered hills allowed for some long-distance runs without fear of losing orientation. I put the machine through its paces while keeping it right side up, not wanting to attempt any 3D maneuvers until some decent photos had been taken. Once the obligatory shots had been captured and catalogued, I went back out for another fl ight. This time, I had increased the travel on all the cyclic channels as well as increasing the necessary gains using the confi guration program on my PC. Let’s just say I was amazed at how well the machine performed. Forward and backwards loops and fl ips were easily achieved as well as barrel rolls and side to side fl ips. If my Blade 300X and my E-fl ite QQ 540 were to mate and spawn an offspring, it would most defi nitely turn out performing like the Hunter V-Tail 400. While I’m not sure if it’s the design of the machine, the capabilities of the Flip 1.5 control board or a combination of both; this nifty little multirotor is a joy to fl y. It has all the stability of a purpose built aerial photography platform, but can achieve much higher speeds as well as perform stunts usually only performed by purebred 3D helicopters. I would like to eventually strap a camera to its belly for recording purposes, but FPV might be out of the question unless, of course, a heavy dose of anti-nausea medication is administered to whoever might be sporting the goggles.

TRANSMITTER

Spektrum DX7S (SPM7800)

RECEIVERSpektrum AR600 (SPMAR600)

BATTERYThunder Power 2250mAh 11.1V

LiPo (THP22504SPR45)

We UsedPILOT REVIEW I LYNXMOTION/ROBOTSHOP HUNTER V-TAIL 400

IN THE AIR

24 MULTIROTOR PILOT

electronics guide was still being produced at the time of my build and that this was also my fi rst att empt at programming a multirotor control board of any kind. Rest assured that Eric and the folks at RobotShop will have a manual for the electronics assembly and setup procedures readily available by the time you are reading this article. A printed version will most likely not be included with their machines as hard copies are not as easily modifi ed as the online versions.

ASSEMBLY TIPS

• Do not fully tighten any screws until each sub-assembly has all the necessary hardware in place.• Use thread locker on all metal to metal contacts using a toothpick to coat the female threads.• Be sure to fi le down any rough edges on the frame plates that might wear on the wires.• Take notice of the USB port on the board when installing your radio gear, you want to make sure to leave it accessible.

THE LAST WORD

While the programming of the Flip 1.5 control board did have me sweating a litt le, I eventually fi gured it out with the help of the V-tail’s chief designer, Eric Nan-tel. By the time this article is on the market, the fi ne folks at Lynxmotion will have a full electronics sup-port guide on their website, so fear not if you might be scared of PCs like I am. The Hunter v-Tail 400 might not be as large as some build-it-yourself multirotor kits, but Lynxmotion does off er the platform in a 500mm as well as a mini size. The aerobatic capabilities of the machine are simply astounding and while I fi rst put off the idea of strapping a camera to it, I think there are certain aspects of photography that might warrant the use of such a nimble and fast platform. If you are thinking of gett ing into multirotor platforms, but have to this point been hesitant because of the lack of agility, this machine should be right up your alley. Couple that with the fact that the whole setup is a steal at just under 400 bucks and I’d say just about anyone with fi xed or rotary wing fl ight experience will have a blast with a V-tail. �

CONTACTSLYNXMOTION lynxmotion.com

ROBOTSHOP robotshop.com

SPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com

THUNDER POWER thunderpowerrc.com


Aesthetic value is something often lacking in the multirotor world, but the V-Tail 400 looks plain awesome just sitting on the shelf.

The rear props are mounted upside down at a 45 degree angle. Such design lends itself well to the acro-batic capabilities of this machine.

The Maytech brushless motors provide plenty of power for pitch ups, loops rolls and high speed runs.

DJI INNOVATIONS

Portable control platform enables autonomous flight

26 MULTIROTOR PILOT PHOTOS BY JOE PAPA

The iPad Ground Station is DJI’s latest iteration of their PC-based waypoint

soft ware. In the past, waypoint functionality was an option for DJI customers, but adding this capability was only possible with the Wookong-M, and cost thousands of dollars. Today, waypoints are available for only $199.00 and you can program them from your iPad.

HARDWARE

Included in the package is the data link transmitt er, Bluetooth transceiver, receiver, CD with soft ware, CANbus cable, power wire and antenna. It’s helpful to know that although many people are concerned about having more than one component on the same frequency band, there is no need for concern, as the channel that the ground station uses will not interfere with your radio transmitt er used for fl ight. This is the exact reason why radio control car racing is possible with multiple drivers all using the same type of radio. The DJI Ground Station is designed to extend the functionality of your DJI fl ight controller signifi cantly, improve safety and provide valuable in-fl ight telemetry data. Since DJI has in-depth videos and tutorials outlining each function in detail, we suggest

you become very familiar with the Ground Station operation before att empting to use it for actual fl ight. Fortunately, there is a simulation mode, and this lets you practice without actually fl ying. Installation is very simple. The transmitt er, which has the dual antenna wires, requires only a single CANbus cable and some mounting tape to install. It is recommended to have the antenna wires installed at 90 degrees from each other for maximum range. On the ground end, plug the Bluetooth module into the receiver; connect power and your done. As always, prior to operation, ensure that all DJI components are running with the latest soft ware and fi rmware. This is oft en overlooked, but must be done to ensure compatibility between all components. Install the app on your iPad, pair the Bluetooth, and installation and setup are complete.

OPERATION

There has been some confusion in online forums regarding the eff ective range. The Bluetooth module, located on the ground, is connected to the receiver via CANbus. The iPad connects to the Bluetooth module, but the Ground Station communicates with the multirotor with 2.4GHz, which is rated for 1.5 kilometers of range. In the event range is exceeded or is lost,

failsafe is engaged and return-to-home is triggered. It’s also nice to know that when fl ying waypoints, the iPad has already told the craft where to go. When active, the iPad will display telemetry data in the upper right corner. This is tremendously helpful in determining fl ight pack voltage, number of satellites and signal strength. The top left shows fl ight time, fl ight mode and LED indicators. One great benefi t of the ground station is that in the event of a crash, the location of the multirotor on the map can be utilized to

Data Link and iPad Ground Station

FEATURES Supports iOS devices with iOS 6.0.1 or above (iPad 3, 4, and iPad Mini)

User-friendly interface

Joystick control with touch screen

Single waypoint function – click and go

Waypoints function allows you to edit a route and go

Three customizable fl ight route templates

Voice guidance functionality

Auxiliary Flight Control supports Home point and automated Go Home

as well as one key take off and landing

PRODUCT REVIEW

by Joe Papa


pinpoint its location. Across the top is a small area dedicated to waypoint functions, take off , return-to-home and joystick mode.

WAYPOINTS

Depending on your fl ight controller, you will have up to 50 waypoints that can be used simultaneously to plan a simple or intricate fl ight missions. By simply touching the screen, waypoint indicators are dropped, and details regarding altitude, speed and heading can be entered. As an option, you can edit this data for several points at once if all the sett ings are the same. Flight paths can be set to run once or loop repeatedly. If the fl ight should ever be calculated to take longer than the maximum fl ight time possible, the ground station will terminate the mission and return to home in time. One of the most valuable waypoint functions is presets. Common shapes like grids, circles, squares, etc., can be selected to help you quickly and effi ciently cover a specifi c area. The geometric shapes can be easily resized or moved with intuitive fi nger gestures you’re already used to. Pinch, zoom and drag are all useable to make sett ing your waypoint mission easier.

IN THE AIR

I took my S800 Evo out to a huge open space and powered everything up. With my Futaba 14SG ready for traditional control, I enabled GPS mode, which must be active for the Ground Station to work. At any time during fl ight, you can instantly take control of the model by toggling out of GPS mode. To take control back with the iPad, you will have to resume the mission on the screen. I waited until I had more than seven satellites and cautiously began to touch the screen to create a waypoint path. Aft er I decided that all points would have the same altitude, speed and heading, I pressed “done” and then “GO” butt on. My Octo spooled up and gently went up to a safe altitude and hovered. Aft er a few seconds it rotated toward the fi rst point and started to fl y its mission. I watched both the iPad as the copter completed each waypoint on its own. It is simply amazing to see this in action! The last waypoint was back to where I was standing, and I decided to test the take over function on the Futaba. I moved the fl ight mode to Att i, and instantly was fl ying myself. Despite taking control from the iPad, the display still tracked my movement, and I landed my

maiden voyage as a success. Since then, I have spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with other features, and while the iPad joystick mode does work well, I do prefer the Futaba for its tactile and familiar control. I did fi nd that the sun did make it diffi cult to see my iPad 3 at times, but a simple shade would alleviate that. I can easily see how fl ights beyond visible range are completely possible with this tool, however, as of now, the FAA is asking us to stay with in visual range. In addition to the iPad functionality and convenience, the package also includes the PC soft ware version. With even more features and power, the uses are almost endless.

THE LAST WORD

Even if you aren’t planning on fl ying waypoints, the iPad Ground Station from DJI is a fantastic and large on screen display, and truly worth its weight in gold should you ever need to fi nd your rig aft er an unfortunate incident. The interface is easy to use, very intuitive and works like a charm. �

CONTACTSDJI INNOVATIONS empirerc.com

EMPIRE RC empirerc.com

FUTABA futaba-rc.com


Programming waypoints is as easy as touching points on the map.

The on-screen joysticks allow you to fl y the copter directly from your iPad. An OSD gives you real-time fl ight data.

Inexpensive FPV fun you can take anywhere

28 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Foldable 3D Printed FPV Quadcopter

CUSTOM PROJECTby Erick Royer

PHOTOS BY ERICK ROYER AND WALTER SIDAS

I love fl ying FPV (fi rst-person view), as it is the closest that many of us will ever get to experiencing the thrill of full-scale fl ight. I also love taking photos and video

from the air. Learning to fl y FPV has its challenges; the primary one being crashing, which you will do oft en as you learn. You lose your spatial awareness when you are fl ying with goggles and it is not uncommon to have an occasional run-in with a tree or the ground. Aft er spending some time looking at many of the commercial quadcopters on the market that could be a great platform for FPV, I found shortcomings with several and decided to design my own. When I sat down at my computer, I had a few things and design elements that I wanted to incorporate into this design. First, I wanted to keep it to 400mm or less in size. I was going to go smaller, but I wanted enough mass so it would be stable and less aff ected by wind. I wanted to be able to carry a GoPro Hero 3 (or similar) camera to take HD aerial video and photos. I wanted it to be foldable so it could fi t in a backpack for days that I go hiking and arrive at a place where gett ing aerial photos would be ideal, like a the top of a mountain or along a river. Since I have a lot of 2200mAh 3S LiPo batt eries for various planes and other aircraft , I wanted it to be able to get at least 12 minutes of fl ight time from these batt ery packs.

SPECSWEIGHT: 2 lb. 2 oz. (ready-to-fl y)

WIDTH: 400mm (between front

motor shafts)

HEIGHT: 95mm

LENGTH: 300mm

MOTORS: (4) NTM Prop Drive 28-26

1000Kv

ESCS: (4) AFRO 30A Multirotor ESC

PROPS: (4) 9x4.7 slowfl yer

RADIO SYSTEM: Spektrum DX18

and a Spektrum AR6115e receiver

FLIGHT CONTROLLER: HKPIlot Mega

V2.5 with NEO-6M GPS module

BATTERY: Turnigy 2200mAh 3S LiPo

MUST-HAVEFEATURES• 400mm or less

• Ability to carry a GoPro Hero 3 (or

equivalent camera)

• Foldable for easy transport

• Runs on a 3S 2200mAh LiPo battery

• Gets at least 12-15 minutes of fl ight

time

• Be easy and inexpensive to repair

• Have GPS capability with position

hold and return to home

• Quad X and Spider arm layout


I also wanted it to be inexpensive and easy to repair. Since all the frame parts are printed from my 3D printer, the cost is very inexpensive. The design allows you to change out any of the four arms, along with the respective motor and ESC in less than three minutes. My original plan was to use HobbyKing’s KK2 fl ight controller board as it is easy to use, does not require a computer and works very well once setup. However aft er realizing how much I enjoyed watching new pilots have success with machines like the Blade 350 QX and the DJI Phantom, I decided that my machine was going to need GPS capability with features like position hold and return-to-home. As a new pilot is learning to fl y line-of-sight, these features are invaluable to help when they get disoriented. But when learning to fl y FPV, you

have additional challenge`s and I wanted the pilot to be able to have failsafe mode in case they got into trouble. Lastly, since I also planned to use this as a photo and video platform, I wanted

the position hold (or loiter) function so I could concentrate on framing my shots rather than fi ghting to hold position, especially on windy days.

There are a lot of options available for GPS-enabled fl ight controller boards including the DJI Naza Lite, MultiWii and others. I

decided to use HobbyKing’s HKPilot Mega V2.5, which is based on 3DRobotics APM 2.5 platform. This controller gave me all of the features I needed for around $100. My last design requirement was that I wanted the front arms to be positioned in either a quad-X layout or wider in the “spider” layout. I did not want the props in the camera’s vision so having the ability to keep

the front arms wider helped me keep the fi eld of view uninterrupted. However, for those pilots that prefer a

typical X confi guration, I made accommodations for that as well.

GET THE FILES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE WEBmultirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad

I printed and assembled the fi nal parts one night at about 2:30 am, but I was determined not to go to bed until I saw it fl y. Thankfully I have a very high ceiling in my living room so I was able to fi re it up and get a few test hops in without venturing outside. I wish I could tell you that everything was perfect but I could not. I followed a wiring diagram that I found which showed how to wire up the APM 2.5 controller for a quad and followed it to a T. However when I applied power it would fl ip over on its back. I spent about two hours adjusting software settings before fi nally retiring for what little night I had left. The next day, I connected it back to the computer and checked the software settings and I noticed that there is a way to test the prop rotations using the TERMINAL function of the APM Planner software (which is a free download from 3DRobotics.com). The software indicated that the motors would spin for a couple seconds in a clockwise rotation in order during the test. Mine did not. They spun in the order which I connected them according to the diagram. Top right was 1, bottom right was 3, bottom left was 2 and top left was 4. After seeing this, I swapped the two bottom ESC wires and tried it again…it fl ew perfect! Later in the day I took it outside with an FPV camera from Fatshark installed to see how well it would perform as an FPV quad. It was very stable in the air, even with the breeze. The GPS lock feature for position hold (loiter) was very good as well. Return to home also worked as expected. With this power system, the quad has a ton of power and can build up speed very quickly. If you program it in manual mode with higher gains, this machine will fl ip and roll with authority as well. I guess this is a bonus as fl ying aerobatics was not part of my design criteria. When I added a GoPro Hero 3 to the nose, the video quality was very good but not terribly stable. I am going to design a brushless gimbal for it as an add-on which I will post on the website with the rest of the fi les. That will give me the fully-stabilized video quality that I love from all of my other multirotor machines but since this quad is portable, I can get that awesome video from just about anywhere.

CUSTOM PROJECT I FOLDABLE 3D PRINTED FPV QUADCOPTER

30 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PARTS LIST4 – AFRO 30A Multirotor ESC ($13.97 each)4 – NTM Prop Drive 28-26 1000Kv motors ($15.99 each) 4 – NTM Prop Drive 28 Accessory Pack ($1.85 each) 4 – 9x4.7 slowfl yer props (2 CW and 2 CCW) ($2.86 for pkg. of 4)1 – XT60 to 4x3.5mm bullet power distribution cable ($3.36)1 – Turnigy 2200mAh 3S LiPo battery ($12.97)1 – HKPilot Mega V2.5 fl ight controller ($75.79)1 – NEO-6M GPS Module ($17.95) 1 – Receiver of your choice (at least 6 channels)1 – Transmitter1 – LiPo charger

HARDWARE LIST For Arms4 – 4mm x 35mm socket head screws4 – 4mm washers4 – 4mm lock washers4 – 4mm wing nuts4 – 4mm x 26mm socket head screws4 – 4mm locknuts For Motor8 – 3mm x 6mm socket head screwsFor Legs4 – 4mm x 25mm socket head screws4 – 4mm locknutsFor Cover4 – 2.5mm x 6mm self-tapping screws

FLIGHT CONTROLLER4 – 2.5mm x 6mm socket head screws

PLASTIC FILAMENT & ESTIMATED PRINT TIME(based on 3mm fi lament)Top plate – 6.69 meters (3 hours, 53 minutes) Bottom plate – 6.63 meters (4 hours, 10 minutes) Legs (each) – 1.34 meters (44 minutes) Arms (each) – 2.61 meters (1 hour, 46 minutes) Cover – 8.17 meters (4 hours, 37 minutes)

IN THE AIR

THE DESIGN PROCESS

My soft ware of choice to design this quadcopter is SketchUp. It is free and very powerful. SketchUp is easy to learn and there are a lot of online support communities, as well as hundreds of videos on YouTube to help you along. I will also make the SketchUp fi les available online so you can feel free to make modifi cations to this design to customize it to your needs. To design this quadcopter, I

fi rst started out with a HobbyKing SK450 quadcopter that I had from a previous project. I looked at its design elements and starting making design changes on paper using this machine. I designed the arms to be about 60 percent the size but I set the infi ll on the printer, as well as the webbing, to keep the arms light but still This is the bottom frame plate in SketchUp.

retain strength. I also wanted the motor mount to be integrated as I wanted as few parts as possible for the design. I designed the center frame to be wider in the front, again so the front arms could be placed further out thus keeping the props out of the camera view. You will notice that I designed curved slots for each arm so all you need to do is loosen the wing nut on the bott om of the frame and the arms would fold down. If you prefer to set this up in an X confi guration, I added two separate holes for the front arms. You will still be able to fold the arms back but you have to remove the screw fi rst. I did this because I did not want the operator to be concerned about the arm’s angle. In the spider layout, just slide the arms out all the way and you automatically have the correct angle on each side. In the X layout, it only takes a few more seconds to remove the bolt since I used wing nuts on the bott om. I also incorporated a platform for the camera on the front. You can mount it above or below depending on the camera you choose. I have notches in the side to accommodate Velcro straps or elastic bands to secure it. The landing gear legs mount to the bott om plate with two screws and locknuts each. The area in between the legs is properly spaced for a typical 3S 2200mAh LiPo batt ery pack, which is held

in place with a Velcro strap. The top frame has mounting pegs specifi cally for the HKPilot Mega (APM 2.5) control board. The pegs allow the wires to come up from underneath to keep the overall wiring neat. I will make a plate available without the pegs as well for those of you who do not wish to use this controller. The last design element was a cover to enclose the electronics and wiring to give the machine a much cleaner overall look. The cover is removable with screws or you can fasten it with Velcro. Aft er running several calculations, I decided to run four NTM

Prop Drive 28-26 1000Kv 235W brushless outrunner motors with 9x4.7 slowfl yer props. I used four

30A AFRO ESCs with SimonK fi rmware. Using my requirement of a 3S 2200mAh batt ery with these props and based on my estimated weight range, I was expecting fl ight times of around 14 minutes with this power system. All of these power system components were purchased

from HobbyKing and the cost kept this machine very aff ordable.

PRINTING THE

PARTS

I used two printers to print this machine to save time; a Leapfrog Creatr and an Ultimaker 2. The orange parts were printed on the Ultimaker 2 and the white parts on the Creatr. Both printers are amazing and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Ironically both companies are located in Sweden. The Leapfrog Creatr is a very rugged, mini-industrial machine that has dual extruders allowing you to print two types of plastic or two separate colors within one job. It also has a large print volume; 230x270x200mm (LWH) or 9.05x10.62x7.87 inches. It can print a wide variety of plastics including ABS, PLA, PVA, Laybrick and nylon. It has a heated build platform, which is necessary for ABS prints. It has a .35mm extruder that is capable of resolutions from .05mm to .35mm (50 to 350 microns). The Creatr weighs around 70 pounds which makes it diffi cult to move from place to place. It is best set up in one spot on your workbench. The Ultimaker 2 is a much smaller printer that, unlike the Creatr, is designed to run untethered from a computer. It has an SD card slot and onboard LCD display so you can run jobs right from the printer.

I made a custom mount to hold the Fatshark camera on the nose. The fi le for this part will be avail-able on the website, multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad.

These are the upper and lower frame plates fresh off the 3D printer.

A wing nut is used to secure the arms in place. It can be easily loosened to fold the arms for transport.

The HKPilot Mega board is attached to the standoffs that are molded into the top frame and the GPS module and receiver are attached to the inside of the electronics cover.

The GoPro Hero 3 camera fi ts nicely on the cam-era plate that is integrated into the lower frame.

CUSTOM PROJECT I FOLDABLE 3D PRINTED FPV QUADCOPTER

32 MULTIROTOR PILOT

The Ultimaker 2 has a print volume of 230x225x205mm (LWH) or 9.05x8.85x8.07 inches. The Ultimaker 2 also has a heated print bed and was designed to print with ABS and PLA plastics. One unique feature of the Ultimaker 2 is that is has the highest resolution out of any sub-$2500 printer on the market with the ability to print as fi ne as 20 microns (.02mm). Its resolution ranges from .02mm to .2mm (20 to 200 microns), making it perfect for fi ner and more intricate parts. Since it weighs just 24 pounds, you can easily transport it from one location to another. All of the parts on this quadcopter are printed with PLA plastic. PLA stands for Polylactic acid, which is a plastic substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually corn). It is much easier to use, does not emit the odor that ABS does and is more environmentally friendly, as it is biodegradable. If the parts are properly designed, PLA can be just as strong as ABS. The main reason that I chose PLA for this machine was because the top and bott om frame plates are large and fl at. ABS plastic has a tendency to curl on large fl at prints. While there are things you can do to keep the prints fl at with ABS, I wanted to keep this simple.

ASSEMBLY AND SETUP

Assembling this quadcopter takes about 30 minutes and if you use the components listed above then no soldering will be required. The motors and ESCs come with bullet connectors already soldered on. There can be some confusion with sett ing up the wiring on the HKPilot Mega board as there are a lot of diagrams online that were not accurate. I outlined my wiring setup, as well as the soft ware sett ings that gave me the best results, with this quadcopter. To save space here, I have a page set up on our website with photos of the assembly process. Please visit multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad for more information.

THE LAST WORD

This was my fi rst custom-designed multirotor and aft er all of my planning and research, I was extremely happy with the fi nal results. The quad ended up having excellent fl ying characteristics and the HKPilot board with GPS module gave me the electronic conveniences

that I was looking for. The quad folds up and stores easily in a backpack so I can take it with me anywhere and get in some FPV fl ying or aerial video whenever I get the urge. I hope you will take the time to download and build this quad.

If you do, please email me and let me know your experience with it at [email protected]. For those of you who would like to build this quad but don’t have access to a 3D printer, we will off er a short kit on the website, so please go to multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad for more details.

CONTACTS3D ROBOTICS 3drobotics.com FATSHARK fatshark.com HOBBYKING hobbyking.com LEAPFROG lpfrg.com SPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com ULTIMAKER ultimaker.com


The cover is attached keeping the wiring clean and protecting the electronics in the event of a crash. It was printed with a very thin infi ll so you can see the LEDS from the board through the cover.

In the bottom view of the quad you can see the legs and battery strap.

Here is the quad all folded up for transport. It looks like a Transformer toy.

34 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Jack Burnside and his team at Empire Hobby have worked closely with Maplegate Media Group and our publications for many years. Their support and belief in our vision to produce the world’s fi rst magazine dedicated to multirotor aircraft , pilots,

aerial photography and videography, FPV and more has been amazing. With their help, we were able to bring some very exciting product to you in this issue. Empire Hobby has a lot of exciting things happening as we write this and we wanted to give our readers a closer look inside the company.

A closer look at EMPIRE HOBBY with Jack Burnside

By The Editors

MULTIROTOR PILOT: How long has Empire Hobby been in business?JACK BURNSIDE: Empire Hobby is coming up on our 10th anniversary this May 24th. This question sure takes me back to the days of NiCd batt eries, the GWS Pico Stick and the fi rst grey Align T-Rex 450; the industry sure has evolved (laughing).

MP: How did you become the U.S. distributor for DJI Innovations product line?JB: As a wholesale-only company, we have always looked for products that will be “the next big thing” as well as companies that are on the cutt ing edge. My business partner, Dave Sobel, and I met DJI at the Nuremberg Toy Fair a few years back and having been familiar with their products, we promptly set up a meeting to discuss distribution. We were grateful that they were familiar with Empire Hobby and our support of the RC community. Aft er moving a lot of product into the hobby market, we were aff orded an exclusive agreement on the DJI hobby line products. DJI has been great to work with and it has been refreshing to see the speed at which they develop and evolve their product line. We are excited about the future of DJI and Empire Hobby.

MP: Can you tell us about your relationship with Sony and how it impacts the hobby?JB: Empire Hobby is a distributor for those Sony products related to aerial photography. Sony truly realizes how our industry is changing the way we view the world. As an iconic industry leader, Sony is committ ed to building this sector. We have actually started the Sony Professional Flight Team with a few of the leaders in the RC aerial photography sector. Right now we are carrying the Alpha series and Action Cam line, but this is growing as we speak. We are currently testing the new A6000, A7R and the new video goggles that have the highest resolution on the market. We look forward to the world of 4K in the new Sony FDR-AX100 camcorder that was announced at the 2014 CES. You can see a video sample from the AX-100 by searching ‘’Sample Video for 4K Handycam FDR-AX1’’ on YouTube. The future is bright indeed.

MP: How do you see the distribution landscape changing? JB: The distribution model is being compressed and you must have quick inventory turnaround and plan for things to change rapidly. This is where my partner, Dave, really shines. We have also seen a huge surge in what I’ll call ‘’import retail.’’ Many times, while ordering online, your product will be coming directly from overseas and you are not even aware of it. This puts our retail dollars off shore and is eroding our domestic dealers’ bott om line. I believe this trend will continue to grow, but in an area such as multirotors, many users need the help and experience that the local dealer can provide. There is quite a learning curve for people just starting out in multicopters and information is essential for the new pilot. We realize not all dealers can have the newest products on their shelf the day they hit U.S. soil and we have created a unique solution for this. When the end-users shop on our site, upon checkout, they are requested to select a dealer to ‘’process’’ their order. What that really means is that you select the dealer to pay and that dealer is then responsible for your customer service needs but Empire ships directly

from our warehouse to the end-user. It really is a win-win situation and allows our domestic dealer to receive sales for the newest products the day they hit our warehouse. We call it the North American Dealer Support System or NDS for short.

MP: How do you see the multirotor sector evolving? JB: Wow! That is a big question. Every day we see new uses for these vehicles and I believe we have only scratched the surface. We will continue to see smaller and lighter components, more energy-dense batt eries, more powerful video transmission equipment and lighter cameras. Multirotors have been a game changer for this industry. I really think we will see phenomenal growth over the next fi ve years and the multirotor sector of the RC industry will carry us for the foreseeable future. It is a very exciting time in the world of RC.

For more information please visit www.empirerc.com.

By Horizon Hobby

350 QXBLADE

Feature-rich,easy to flyGoPro-compatiblequadcopter

36 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PILOT REVIEWby Joe Cannavo

In my personal experience, it seems as though there are two types of hobbyists that are interested in mul-

tirotor machines – the sport fl yers who like the small and micro quads and fl y for fun, and the pilots who want to a ach a camera on their machine to get aerial pho-tos and video. When the Blade 350 QX was recently released to the market, they actu-ally combined both desires into one machine along with the addition of some pre y awe-some technological features. The 350 QX comes in both bind-n-fl y (BNF) and ready-to-fl y (RTF) versions. Both versions come with the fully-assembled 350 QX, bat-tery and charger. The RTF version also comes with a Spektrum DX5e transmi er and four “AA” ba eries. The 350 QX is a very a ractive quadcopter with a futuristic look to it. When you take it out of the box, all you need to do is charge the ba ery and fl y. The 350 QX gets its lift from four powerful 1100Kv brushless motors and a 3S 2200mAh LiPo ba ery. This is plenty of power to lift a GoPro camera with its protective case and still have relatively long (8-12 minute) fl ight times. Common occurrences that you often fi nd on multirotor machines equipped with a GoPro is a shake and blur known as “Jell-O Eff ect.” One way to avoid (or minimize) this is to fabricate a dampening system. Blade took this problem into consideration and included four dampen-ers, which work very well. Up until this point, the 350 QX looks just like any other multirotor machine; a body, four arms and four motors/props. However, it is what you cannot see that makes the Blade 350 QX such an amazing machine.

FEATURES GALORE

The Blade 350 QX has some of the most advanced electronics that I have seen in a fl y-ing machine at this price point. The heart of what makes it so great is the Blade SAFE (Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope) technology. SAFE is a revolutionary electronic fl ight enve-lope protection system that off ers smoother fl ight capability which makes fl ying in windy conditions much easier. It off ers multiple fl ight modes so you can fl y with the level of protection and assistance that best matches your fl ight conditions. There are seven main features that I will outline that make the Blade 350 QX one amazing machine.

Smart Mode While in Smart Mode, SAFE technology prevents the 350 QX from pitch-ing or rolling past a certain angle, thus making it very diffi cult for the pilot to over-control the aircraft, even with full stick defl ection applied.

The 350 QX will also return to a stable and level hover as soon as you return the sticks to the center position. GPS/A itude Hold, SAFE Circle and Stick Relativity are all available in this mode.

Stability Mode In Stability Mode, the 350 QX will have a very limited fl ight envelope with self-leveling capability for consist-

SPECSLENGTH: 18.3 in. (465mm)

WIDTH: 18.3 in. (465mm)

MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER: 22.8 in. (580mm)

MAIN ROTOR BLADE LENGTH: 8.27 in. (210mm)

MAIN MOTOR SIZE: Four 1100Kv brushless

outrunners

FLYING WEIGHT: 24 oz.

RADIO: Requires 5+ channel DSM2/DSMX com-

patible transmitter for the BNF version. Flown with

Spektrum DX9. RTF version includes Spektrum DX5e

transmitter

DURATION: 10-14 minutes

BATTERY: 11.1V 3S 2200mAh 30C LiPo (included)

Technical SpecsMAXIMUM YAW ANGULAR VELOCITY (ROTA-TIONAL SPEED) SMART/STABILITY MODE: 200º/sec; 3-axis mode: 380º/sec

MAXIMUM TILT ANGLE STABILITY MODE: 45º

Stability + Pressure sensor (Mode 0 without GPS):

30º Smart Mode (Mode 0 with GPS): Position con-

troller allowed up to 30º Agility Mode: No limit

MAXIMUM ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED SMART MODE: 2 m/s Stability Mode + Pressure

sensor: 3 m/s

MAXIMUM FLIGHT VELOCITY ONLY APPLICABLE IN SMART MODE: 4 m/s

PROS SAFE Circle technology prevents the 350 QX

from fl ying too close to the pilot

GPS Position Hold keeps the QX in a fi xed

position in space without pilot input

Agility mode allows the 350 QX to fl y

aerobatic maneuvers

Attractive looking design

Includes an integrated anti-vibration

GoPro camera mount

CONS If using a Spektrum DX5e with a

two-position fl ight mode switch, you

cannot access all three fl ightmodes


Author’s OpinionWith the popularity of the GoPro camera systems and their ability to shoot HD-quality video and photos from just about anywhere, the Blade 350 QX serves as the perfect platform to capture stunning aerial footage. Between Blade’s SAFE technology and the QX’s GPS and Altimeter technology, this machine is extremely easy to fl y so you can focus on getting the shots you need.

TRANSMITTER

Spektrum DX9, SPMR9900

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Blade

DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon Hobby

TYPE: GoPro compatible quadcopter

FOR: Beginner to advanced multirotor pilots

MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Baseball fi eld

PRICE: $419.99, BNF; $469.99, RTF

NEEDED TO COMPLETE: BNF version requires 5+ channel DSM2/

DSMX compatible transmitter and four “AA” batteries for the transmitter. RTF version

does not require anything.

We Used

As we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Blade 350 QX, I made a list of tests that I wanted to put the quad through once I got the controller in my hands. I was very intrigued with all the technol-ogy features and wanted to see if they lived up to the hype. Additionally, I wanted to attach a GoPro Hero 2 camera and see how well this platform worked to capture aerial video and photos. Before putting a couple hundred dol-lar camera on the quad, I made several fl ights around our fi eld testing each of the three modes (Smart, Stability and Agility). My fi rst fl ight was using Smart Mode and I was especially inter-ested in the SAFE Circle. Prior to fl ight, I measured a 30 foot circle and using powdered lime, I drew the circle. I stood in the center of the circle and fl ew the 350 QX about 75 to 100 feet away from myself. Every attempt to fl y within the realm of the circle were thwarted by the system. I tried from various speeds and altitudes and I could not get it to fl y inside that circle. Impressive! The Stick Relativity function was another feature that intrigued me. One

common problem with multirotor machines is maintaining orientation. Since they are sym-metrical machines, you can quickly lose track of what is the front or back if you are not paying attention. When this feature is enabled, the left and right stick movement will move the 350 QX to the left or right in relation to the pilot regardless of which direction it is fac-ing. With SAFE Circle activated and using Stick Relativity, a left or right stick movement will continually move the quad in a circle around the pilot. This is a very cool feature that adds another level of enjoyment to fl ying the 350 QX. The GPS Hold did just that. Once activated, the 350 QX stayed within a designated area in space and would remain there regardless of the wind. In fact, we even put the controller down and the 350 QX remained right where we activated GPS Hold. The Return Home feature was also very cool. When you spool up the 350 QX for your ini-tial fl ight takeoff, the system remembers its location. At any time in fl ight you can simply hit the Return Home switch and it will fl y right back to that exact starting point with no con-trol input from the pilot. This is a great feature for new pilots as it will save the machine from damage due to hard or uncontrolled landings. The last thing I wanted to do was see how responsive the 350 QX is in Agility Mode. I am not a huge fan of fl ying aerobatics with a multirotor in the fi rst place. That is not what my helicopters are for, but I did want to see how well this machine could fl ip or perform a roll. I was surprised at how snappy it was and I actually found myself really enjoying fl ying these maneuvers. You do need to make sure that you have some altitude because the blades are all fi xed pitch and when you go inverted, they are pushing air in the direction that will the 350 QX directly towards the ground. Even in a fast fl ip or roll, you might lose a couple of feet of altitude. The increased for-ward speed and responsiveness of the controls made this machine feel like a whole new animal. Now that I was comfortable fl ying the 350 QX, it was time to attach my GoPro and get some aerial footage. I was really happy to see how smooth the video was. The dampeners really work well. The only way to get a fl aw-lessly smooth video would be to add a brushless gimbal, but I honestly was very happy with the results. When locked in GPS mode, I was able to eas-ily pan the unit using the left stick to get a very smooth 360 degree view from the air.

PILOT REVIEW I BLADE 350 QX

IN THE AIR

38 MULTIROTOR PILOT

ent level fl ight and optional GPS Hold. This mode is the best choice for capturing video as the QX will fl y smoothly, and when GPS Hold is enabled it will remain in a fi xed position in space while the video records.

Agility Mode The Agility Mode is designed for more experienced pilots, allowing aero-batic maneuvers to be performed. The AS3X fl ight characteristics, coupled with an unlim-ited fl ight envelope, will allow the 350 QX to perform maneuvers such as fl ips and rolls. You will also experience an increase in speed and response time for all control inputs.

SAFE Circle While in Smart Mode, the 350 QX will off er the pilot protection in the form of a 30-foot-diameter invisible barrier called SAFE Circle. SAFE Circle prevents the 350 QX from entering this airspace, thus preventing pilots from fl ying too close to themselves.

Stick Relativity This is a very unique feature which is incredibly helpful, especially with novice pilots. When activated, as you move the cyclic stick to the left or right, the 350 QX will move left or right relative to the pilot regard-less of which way the machine is pointing.

GPS and Altimeter Technology The inte-grated GPS and Altimeter sensors are designed to keep the 350 QX in a stable hover position regardless of wind conditions. This feature is always on in Smart Mode and it allows you to concentrate on panning the 350 QX or slightly moving it for seamless video capture.

Return Home With the fl ip of a switch on the transmi er and no stick input from the pilot, the 350 QX will automatically return to the position where its motors started for that particular fl ight.

THE LAST WORD

The Blade 350 QX is one very unique and fea-ture-rich quadcopter. If you are looking for a solid all-in-one solution for capturing pho-tos and video from the air using your GoPro camera, then you will be very happy with the results using the 350 QX. The three dif-ferent fl ight modes allow any user, novice to expert, a chance to really have some fun with this machine. The SAFE Circle is one of my favorite features to help keep the pilot safe. The best part of the 350 QX is that you do not need to add anything additional to be able to shoot great aerial footage right away. �

CONTACTSBLADE bladehelis.comHORIZON HOBBY horizonhobby.comSPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com


When you are looking to capture video from the air, especially when chasing a moving object like follow-

ing an automobile or another plane in the air, a tricopter is the perfect platform because it has all the stability of a quad or hexcopter, but its in-fl ight characteristics are more like a plane than a typical multi-

rotor. Tricopters use a tilting mechanism on the tail rotor to control the yaw axis of the machine, which allows the aircraft to sweep and bank smoothly in forward fl ight, pro-viding very dramatic video without the use of a motorized gimbal. If you are familiar with Flitetest.com’s videos, most of the aer-ial video where they chase other airplanes in fl ight is done with a tricopter. There are many tricopters on the market, most of which are sold as frames or in kits, and there are just as many plans and adapter plates that you can acquire that will allow you to make one with the use of wooden square stock or aluminum tubing for the arms. When I was looking to build my own tricopter as an aerial video and FPV platform, I had two requirements…it had to be folda-ble so it was easy to transport and it had to be able to outfi t the FPV camera system from RC

Logger, which I love and wanted to feature on this machine. That is when I discovered the HobbyKing X900 tricopter.

X900 FEATURES AND

POWER SYSTEM

The X900 features a nicely fi nished fi berglass plate main frame, shock-absorbing landing legs and best of all, it is foldable. The tail servo mount is also made from fi berglass and uses a mini servo for yaw control. The rear motor mount is installed on dual ball bearings which gives very smooth and precise yaw movement. The X900 is a good size too, with the front arms measuring 420mm and the rear arm at 450mm, giving an overall foot print of 31 x 33 inches. They even include spring-loaded feet to absorb impact from hard landings. When it came to choosing a power sys-tem for the X900, I wanted to make sure I

Tricopter with RC Logger FPV SystemX900

HOBBYKING

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: HobbyKing

TYPE: Foldable tricopter

FOR: Intermediate to advanced pilots

MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Ball fi eld

PRICE: $32.16 (frame only); $240 (frame, power system and controller w/GPS)

40 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PILOT REVIEWby Joe Cannavo

A highly maneuverable, easy to transport FPV

camera machine

FPV SYSTEM MANUFACTURER: RC LOGGER

TYPE: 720P HD 5.8GHz video system

ANTENNA: RC Logger Clover Leaf 5.8GHz

RECORDING CAPABILITY: Yes

MAX RESOLUTION: 1280x720

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 320x240 (4:3)

BATTERY DURATION: Video RX (4 hours);

Detachable Monitor (3 hours)

OUTPUT POWER: 25mW

NUMBER OF RF CHANNELS: 8

SPECIFICATIONS WEIGHT: 2 lb. 14 oz. fl ight ready

LENGTH: 31 in.

HEIGHT: 5.75 in.

WIDTH: 33 in.

PROPS: 10x4.5 slow fl yer (1 CCW, 2 CW)

RADIO: Flown with Spektrum DX18 transmitter and

a Spektrum AR610 receiver

SERVO: Turnigy TGY-S306G Ultra-Fast High Torque

MG Digital

FLIGHT CONTROLLER: HKPilot Mega V2.5 w/GPS

MOTORS: (3) NTM Prop Drive 28-30S 800Kv (short

shaft) brushless outrunner

ESC: (3) HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A brushless

speed controller

MAX LIFT CAPACITY: 4.5 lbs. (at full throttle)

BATTERY: Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 35C LiPo

DURATION: 12 minutes


had plenty of power to carry additional pay-load (cameras, video transmi ers, etc.), so I installed three NTM 28-30S 800Kv 300W brushless outrunner motors with three HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A ESCs. With 10x4.5 slowfl yer props, these motors each produce 45 ounces of thrust at full power. Since most of my fl ying will be at 50 percent power, that means I will have a total eff ec-tive lifting capacity of around 4.5 pounds. The total weight of the X900 as I set it up, including the FPV system and ba ery, is two pounds and 14 ounces, leaving me with plenty of power to spare.

CONTROL SYSTEM

There are plenty of options when it comes to controlling the X900, from a simple, inex-pensive KK2 board to the full-blown DJI Naza line of controllers. Since I was using

this machine for FPV, I wanted some safety features like position hold and return to home just in case I needed to use them. It is not uncommon to initially get disoriented when fl ying with FPV goggles until you get used to them and the aircraft. So I chose to use an HKPilot Mega V2.5 autopilot fl ight controller, which is basically a version of the open source APM 2.5 project from 3D Robotics. The APM 2.5 has a huge online community and support system in place so ge ing help online is very easy and there are tons of websites detailing how to use the controller and related software. The HKPilot Mega is an Arduino-com-patible controller that uses an ATMEGA2560 processor with an ATMEGA32U-2 USB. The board features a 3-axis gyro, accelerome-ter, magnetometer and a high-performance barometer, which provides a full six degrees of

I custom-printed an enclosure to protect the controller, receiver and GPS module. It also made the wiring look much neater. You can download the fi les to print your own case at www.multirotorpilotmag.com/x900.

The RC Logger FPV Pro’s camera lens can be adjusted to change the recording angle from straight ahead to straight down. It is controlled via a micro servo and a slider on the transmitter.

PILOT REVIEW I HOBBYKING X900 TRICOPTER WITH RC LOGGER FPV SYSTEM

42 MULTIROTOR PILOT

freedom (DOF) with precise position sensing capability. A Honeywell HMC5883L-TR Digi-tal Compass is also integrated into the board. I combined the HKPilot Mega with a Neo-6M GPS module to take full advan-tage of its capabilities. One very cool feature of this controller is that you can program in waypoints for fully autonomous control to preset locations. Additionally you have the standard GPS controller features, like return-to-home and position hold which allows the craft to remain stationary in the air when you release the sticks. Since the HKPilot Mega controller (APM 2.5) can be set up for many diff erent types of models, I had to search for specifi c wiring instructions for a tricopter. The following illustrates the proper wiring for this board.

APM PLANNER 2.0 SOFTWARE

3D Robotics has two diff erent software pro-grams for the APM 2.5 that you can download for free; Mission Planner for a PC laptop or desktop computer and APM Planner 2.0 for a Mac, PC or Linux-based system. Since I have a MacBook, I installed APM Planner to con-fi gure and program my controller. The APM Planner 2.0 is an open-source ground station that allows you to confi gure an airplane, hel-icopter, multirotor or ground-based vehicle with the autopilot to become fully autono-mous. The AP2 is also used to calibrate and confi gure the controller, plan and save mis-sions and view live data in fl ight. The fi rst thing to do when you connect your controller and run the software for the fi rst time is to select the appropriate fi rm-ware for the model that you are using it with. This will load in the appropriate con-troller software so your model operates correctly. From there you can begin the cal-ibration process for compass, accelerometer and the radio system. There are many dif-ferent fl ight modes that you can program and assign to switches on the radio. I set up a three-position switch to select from stabi-lize, loiter (position hold) and return home. Once done with the confi guration, it was time to test fl y to see if any further fi ne-tun-ing would be needed. I made some minor adjustments to the gains to get the tricop-ter to feel how I wanted it. At the time of this writing, we did not have the ability to try the waypoint programming mode, but we will cover that in depth in a future issue of Multirotor Pilot magazine. To keep the wiring neat and to protect the controller board and receiver in the event of a crash, I used my 3D printer to make an enclo-sure. I designed posts to secure the controller board so it can be fastened with four screws. I also molded in a spot to secure the GPS mod-ule. If you are interested in downloading the STL fi les for this enclosure, you can for free at multirotorpilotmag.com/x900.

Flying the X900 was actually much eas-ier and more enjoyable than I thought. I have fl own a lot of multirotors but this was my fi rst tricopter. When I got to our fl ying spot, I powered on and tested the video system and once that checked out, I armed the motors by moving and holding the rudder stick (with throttle down) to the right for fi ve seconds. Once armed, the motors will all spin slowly. To disarm the motors, you hold the rud-der stick (with throttle down) to the left for fi ve seconds. As I powered up the X900, I advanced the throttle and it held in a rock-solid hover at about half stick. I had the HKPilot Mega in stabilize mode to start so it was working hard fi ghting the 10-plus mph wind we had that day. I fl ew around a bit and everything I read about fl ying a tricopter was true; it had a mixed feel between a quad or hex and an airplane. It was very smooth in for-ward fl ight and watching the live video, I really loved the banking effect that you get when you fl y. It is similar to having an FPV camera on a plane but you have the ability to hover and move side to side and backwards which you can’t with an airplane. The yaw control was much more responsive on the X900 than it is with a quad or hex with the pivoting tail rotor. I was very impressed with how well the HKPilot Mega controller board did its job. The model was very stable and easy to control. Switching into loiter (position hold) mode locked the tri-copter in space where it received its last input. Having fl own systems with advanced controllers like the DJI Wookong or the new DJI A2, the Mega did not have as tight of a GPS hold, but then again the controller and GPS module cost less than $100, so I was not expecting it to perform like a $1,300 unit. It had no problem maintaining a 5 to 6 foot box in space. The return-to-home feature also worked well. When activated, the model stopped in fl ight for a few seconds before fl ying itself back to where it took off. This is great if you are fl ying with no obstructions, because the controller will fl y in a straight line back to the starting point. It does not have any way of detecting obstacles like trees or buildings. You can also program the failsafe mode so if your battery gets too low or you lose transmitter signal, the model will fl y itself back, thus saving you from a crash. The RC Logger FPV system worked fl awlessly. I fl ew line-of-sight while using the monitor to frame the video I was recording and I also attached Fatshark FPV goggles via a video output cable on the monitor so I fl ew full-on FPV. I was also able to use the slider on my transmitter to adjust the tilt of the camera so I could get video from angles that you normally can’t get from a standard FPV system without the use of a gimbal. However, I did fi nd it very diffi cult to fl y with goggles while moving the tilt, as you really need to pay attention to what is in front of you.

IN THE AIR The RC Logger video system is very neat and compact. I custom-printed a mount for the DX18 which slides directly over the transmitter’s antenna. This allows for easy removal and keeps the monitor in position to see easily while fl ying.


TRANSMITTER

Spektrum DX18

MOTORS

NTM Prop Drive 28-30S 800Kv

(short shaft) brushless outrunner

ESC

HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A

Brushless Speed Controller

PROPS

(3) 10x4.5 slow fl yer

counter-rotating

FLIGHT CONTROLLER

HKPilot Mega V2.5

RECEIVER

Spektrum AR610

SERV0

Turnigy TGY-S306G Ultra-Fast

High Torque MG Digital

BATTERY

Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 35C LiPo

CAMERA

RC Logger Pro

VIDEO SYSTEM

RC Logger 5.8GHz TX RX Set

We Used

Output side:Pin 1 connects to the ESC for motor 1 (front right) Pin 2 connects to the ESC for motor 2 (front left) Pin 4 connects to the ESC for the tail motor Pin 7 connects to your yaw servo

Input side (connections from receiver):Pin 1 connects to the aileron channel Pin 2 connects to the elevator channel Pin 3 connects to the throttle channel Pin 4 connects to the rudder channel Pin 5 connects to the gear channel Pin 6 connects to the Aux 1 channel

RC LOGGER FPV SYSTEM

As with tricopter frames, power systems and controller boards, there are also a lot of FPV cam-era systems on that market that you can use for your multirotor. I had some specifi c require-ments that I wanted for this aircraft’s FPV system, including the ability to record a mini-mum of 720p video to a memory card, the ability to tilt the camera from straight ahead to straight down using a slider on my transmi er and I wanted to use a small monitor on my transmit-ter with an output for goggles. I was introduced to the RC Logger FPV camera systems at a trade show a few months back and decided that it would be perfect for this machine. There are several other advantages to the RC Logger system that I did not even realize until I got my hands on it. First, the camera and mon-itor both have an internal rechargeable ba ery, so I would not need any additional wiring for power on my transmi er or on the tricopter. The camera has a lens with a servo arm a ached to it so you can use a small servo to tilt the camera lens while in fl ight. The transmi er on the tri-copter gets its power from receiver so again, no special wiring is needed. And lastly, the system comes with cables that are already terminated for the system so there is no need to solder and make custom cables. The monitor is 3.5 inches with a crystal-clear full-color display. To eliminate the need for any wires, the video receiver a aches right to the side of the monitor and there are integrated con-tact points for power and the video signal. If you want to use the receiver with another monitor or video goggles you can, since it has its own built-

in rechargeable ba ery. I made a custom holder for the monitor to mount on my DX18 transmit-ter with my 3D printer. You can download the fi les at multirotorpilotmag.com/x900. Overall the system is very clean and works perfectly right out of the box. The reception is excellent, especially when you replace the stock antennas with Clover Leaf antennas.

THE LAST WORD

The X900 is a machine that I will be using much more often. I am excited to try out the waypoint features of the APM 2.5 system, of which I will report back in a future issue. The recorded video quality was very good. While not full 1080p HD, it was very high quality and considering my main living room TV is only a 720p, a higher res-olution would not have ma ered any more to me. I loved the ease of use of all the components that are in this multirotor. From box to fi rst fl ight only took about two to three hours including set-ting up with the software. If you want to get into tricopters for less than $35, you can save the time that it would take scratchbuild and enjoy a very rugged and dura-ble machine that folds for easy transport. �

CONTACTS3D ROBOTICS 3drobotics.com HOBBYKING hobbyking.com RC LOGGER rclogger.com SPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com


MOTOR WIRING

Aerial video and multirotors seem to go together like chocolate and peanut butt er, and in today’s market there is no shortage of options if recording the world with a bird’s eye view is your passion. Mainstream machines like the Blade 350 QX and the DJI

Phantom make this easy right out of the box; just add a GoPro and fl y. However what if you want more? What if you are looking for the ability to capture video with pan and sweeps that you only see in big-budget motion picture fi lms? To get these amazing shots you need a bit more. You need a high-resolution camera with a large image sensor and the ability to interchange lenses. These SLR cameras are larger and much heavier than a GoPro-type camera and they provide much higher quality video and still photos. You can capture video that is on par with the big boys in Hollywood. Of course if you want to run one of these cameras, then you need more than a 2-axis gimbal. The DJI Zenmuse is one of the highest quality systems on the market for cameras of this size. The Zenmuse is a full 3-axis gimbal that not only stabilizes the camera, but also allows the operator to adjust the pan, and tilt and roll from the transmitt er as well. When you consider the weight of the Zenmuse is 3.3 pounds, and in our case we are using the amazingly high resolution Sony NEX 6N camera that weighs another 14 ounces with the batt ery and lens, you

need a machine that is capable of handling some serious payload. The Gaui 840H is the machine to do the job…and do it well. In the world of aerial video multirotors, I would consider the Gaui 840H a mid-size machine. One of the most sought-aft er cameras to fl y on a multirotor is the Red Epic which, when fully outfi tt ed, can weigh over 20 pounds and cost well over $25,000. To carry a camera like this requires a heavy lift machine, which can range from 1100mm to over 2000mm with a ready to fl y weight of 30-40 pounds. These machines are in a class of their own

GAUIFlight, Camera, Action!

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Gaui

DISTRIBUTOR: Empire RC

TYPE: Hexacopter

FOR: Advanced pilots to aerial photographer


PRICE: $1,799.00 (Super Combo Kit with motors, ESCs, props and DJI Wookong-M with GPS)

46 MULTIROTOR PILOT

840H HEXACOPTERWITH DJI WOOKONG-M

PILOT REVIEWby Erick Royer

PHOTOS BY WALTER SIDAS AND ERICK ROYER

SPECSWIDTH (motor shaft to motor shaft): 840mm

PROPELLER SIZE: 15 in. (included in Super Combo Kit)

MOTORS: (6) Gaui 320Kv, 46mm brushless outrunners (included in Super Combo Kit)

ESCS: Gaui Special-made 25A for 23mm boom (included in Super Combo Kit)

FLIGHT CONTROLLER: DJI Wookong-M with GPS module (included in Super Combo Kit)

OSD: DJI OSD Mark 2

MAXIMUM FLYING WEIGHT: 17.63 lbs.

WEIGHT AS FLOWN: 13.8 lbs.

BATTERY: (2) MaxAmps 6S 5450mAh 22.2V 120C LiPo

GIMBAL: DJI Zenmuse Z15-N 3-axis brushless

CAMERA: Sony NEX 6 16.1mp w/12mm lens

VIDEO TRANSMITTER: Immersion RC 600mW 5.8GHz

RADIO SYSTEM (for fl ight): Futaba 14SG with Futaba R6208SB eight-channel S.Bus receiver

RADIO SYSTEM (for camera): Spektrum DX18 with Spektrum AR6210 six-channel receiver

VIDEO GOGGLES (for camera operator): Fatshark Predator V2

FEATURES Very rigid steel boom construction.

Metal CNC motor mounts help dissipate heat.

Power distribution board is integrated into the lower center frame plate with bullet connectors for quick and easy power connections.

High-performance 320Kv 46mm brushless outrunners produce low noise and very little vibration for increased stability.

The ESCs are hidden inside the metal booms. They use the boom as a heatsink to dissipate heat and provide a very clean installation.

Large center frame that will accommodate any fl ight controller system and all of your additional electronics like FPV gear, OSD, and more.

Simple, easy and fast mounting and removal of main landing gear.

Streamlined canopy reduces wind noise and protects the electronics from light rain.

Can accommodate a lot of payload, which includes additional batteries for longer fl ight times, a heavy-duty camera gimbal and larger SLR-type cameras.


and are typically seen on big budget movie sets. On the opposite end, you have multirotors like the DJI Phantom up to 550-size machines like the DJI Flame Wheel F550, which commonly carry smaller cameras like a GoPro and have the ability to fl y in tight quarters. The Gaui 840H is a larger machine which can fl y a considerable payload, as we are with the Zenmuse gimbal and Sony NEX 6N camera. The larger size means greater stability, especially on windy days. The 840H with the setup that we have in this review is capable of obtaining some very impressive video and since our machine is set up for two operators (pilot and

cameraman), you have the ability of framing shots that you simply cannot with a smaller machine.

ASSEMBLY

The assembly process on this machine was much easier than many smaller multirotors that I have put together. The quality of the parts as well as the fi t and fi nish were excellent. The kit I am reviewing is a Super Combo Kit, which comes complete with motors, speed controllers and props so everything is prett y much plug and play. I am not going to rewrite the manual here but there are some notes that I made as I put the 840H

together that are worth mentioning. First off , the motor mounts are machined aluminum and they are keyed so they lock into the proper position on the booms. The motors and ESCs come with bullet connectors already soldered on, thus saving a lot of assembly time. The ESCs are custom designed for this machine. They are sized to slide inside the booms with the appropriate length wires to reach the center frame. The design of the ESCs uses the metal booms to act as a heatsink to keep them running cool. When you connect the ESCs to the motors, pay close att ention to the chart in the manual to ensure that each motor is wired for the correct rotation. Three motors will spin clockwise and three counterclockwise. Failing to get them in the correct locations will result in an unfl yable machine. There is an arrow cut out of the top center frame that denotes the front of the machine. From that point you can properly position each boom with the motor running in the correct direction. Again the booms are keyed so they lock into the center frame correctly. One of my favorite features of this machine is the lower center frame. It doubles as a power distribution board and has bullet connectors already soldered in place for the motors. This is one of the neatest installations that I have seen in a multicopter.

Additionally there are contact points on the board where you can solder power wires

for optional devices such as FPV and LEDS.

The lower center plate has integrated power contacts which leaves a lot of room between the center frames and on the top frame to mount the electronics. Since I was not familiar with sett ing up the Wookong-M, my friend (and fellow contributor)

Our fi rst test fl ight with the 840H was at exactly 4:05am. After spending all day and night making everything perfect, we were not going to get some shut-eye until we saw her fl y. Moving out to my driveway, we performed the “Naza dance” to calibrate the Wookong and then activated the motors by moving both sticks down and towards the center of the transmitter and after a few deep breaths, we advanced the throttle. The 840H came off the ground and went right into a stable hover; no trim required. We brought it up to about 15 feet and switched to GPS mode and let go of the sticks. The Wookong-M did a fantastic job of keeping the copter locked right where we put it. The most it drifted was a couple feet in either direction, which is basically nothing when taking aerial footage from the air. That was it, time to get some sleep as the next day was the big test and photo shoot. Our photo shoot day was not exactly optimal. It was very breezy with 15+ mph, winds with the mercury reading a balmy 8 degrees. Not optimal for the pilot but these conditions were perfect for testing the copter as well as the gimbal/camera combo to see how they perform in extreme conditions. So we put a fresh memory card into the Sony and my friend (and fellow contributor), Petr Hejl, took the pilot controller while I had the goggles and camera transmitter. I have used many brushless gimbals and even designed a couple for use with GoPro cameras and I am always impressed with the stability and video quality. However, the Zenmuse/NEX 6 combo completely blew me away. Petr took the 840H up to about 50-60 feet and I could see how badly the wind was blowing it around as I panned the camera to look at the airframe, however looking at the video, you would think the camera was on a tripod. The Wookong-M held the copter right where he put it and handled the wind as if it were a calm day. The motors and props that come with the Super Combo were ultra-quiet, which will make this machine perfect for taking aerial video in places where you don’t want to make the world know of your presence. The power to climb and quickly move from one location to another was excellent. One thing that I feel is very important to note was the batteries. The MaxAmps 6S 5450mAh 120C LiPo packs were amazing. They are only three ounces heavier than the 5000mAh packs we normally use but with the additional 900mAh of capacity meant we got an extra two to four minutes of fl ight time between charges. MaxAmps is really focused on developing the best batteries for the multirotor market and after running these packs a half dozen times and comparing our normal packs, I would say they are succeeding.

PILOT REVIEW I GAUI 840H HEXACOPTER

IN THE AIR

48 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Joe Papa came over to pull an all-nighter with me to get this machine ready. He is very meticulous and spent a lot of time making the electronic installation look pristine. He installed the Wookong’s main controller in the center of the lower frame, which made it easy to install the rest of the components around it, and left a lot of room on the top frame for future additions. When he was done, very few wires were visible. In fact, I think all you really see are the DJI CANbus wires and the S.Bus wire for the receiver as well as the batt ery power leads. Overall this is one very clean install. The 840H has a foldable boom design, making transportation easier. To fold the booms you need to remove two screws per boom mount. The design is clever, but you need to make sure you don’t lose the screws. The 840H comes with a fi xed landing gear that provides enough clearance for a GoPro camera and 2-axis gimbal, but since we were going to install the Zenmuse 3-axis gimbal, we needed more clearance under the frame. Thankfully we had an extended fi xed landing gear on hand so we opted to put them on instead.

Editor’s note: We are in the process of gett ing a retractable landing gear for this machine as it is needed to take full advantage of the 3-axis gimbal’s ability to pan 360 degrees and not have the gear in the camera’s view. When we do, we will make the update and report available on our website at multirotorpilotmag.com/840H. We will be updating this page oft en with photos and video that we shoot from this machine as well as any other additions or modifi cations that we make.

INSTALLING THE ZENMUSE

The Zenmuse Z15 gimbal comes completely assembled and tested from the factory. All you need to do is att ach it to the frame and connect the wiring. Gaui off ers a rail system that att aches to the lower center frame with stand-off s and the Zenmuse att aches to the rails.

The process is very easy. The gimbal is suspended from eight rubber dampeners. Since the camera and gimbal weigh almost fi ve pounds total, I did not trust all that weight riding on rubber, so I att ached four zip ties thought the four outermost dampeners. I left them relatively loose so they won’t aff ect the dampening aff ect, but in the event that a

dampener fails the gimbal will remain on the aircraft . The Zenmuse has its own controller and power harness that makes the installation easy and neat. No soldering was necessary for the installation. The HDMI cable att aches to the Sony NEX 6 and provides a live video feed, which was wired directly into an


Immersion RC 600mW video transmitter so the camera operator had live video for controlling the gimbal and framing the shots. A Spektrum receiver was connected to the Zenmuse to allow the camera operator to control the pan, roll and pitch of the camera as well as remotely activate the shutter. The Zenmuse Z15-N is made specifically for the Sony NEX 7 camera which uses the same body as the NEX 6 so the included brackets were a perfect fit. It is amazing how precisely balanced the gimbal is with this camera on it. Without power applied I centered the camera and it remained right where I put it. I then put a single 5-inch zip tie on the top edge of the camera and the gimbal started to tilt in that direction…talk about precise. To remove the camera, there are two thumbscrews that need to be removed; one attached to the hot shoe and the other for the tripod mount. The only complaint that I have about this Zenmuse setup is that it is hard to access the power switch on the camera while it is attached to the gimbal and you need to remove the camera to charge it and to remove the memory card.

FLIGHT CONTROLLER

The Super Combo Kit comes with the DJI Wookong-M and GPS module. Up until the recent release of the A2, the Wookong was the flagship flight controller in the DJI line. The installation is easy if you follow the instructions to ensure everything is connected to the proper location. There are two things to keep in mind when you are installing the Wookong; first, the main controller needs to be mounted near the center of the model and must face the front of the machine and second, the GPS antenna needs to be mounted also facing forward. It gets installed on a mast to keep it away from any RF interference that might come from the rest of the electronics. To program the Wookong you have a couple options. You can download the Wookong-M Assistant software from the DJI website. It is available for both Windows and the Mac. Second, if you have a Bluetooth LED from DJI, then you can download the app for the iPhone and set up the machine, as well as make adjustments right from your smartphone. The Assistant software is very easy to understand and use. It took only a matter of minutes to have the system calibrated and set up. The latest version of the Wookong-M firmware unlocks the possibility of using up to 50 waypoints to autonomously fly the multirotor. However to use this functionality, you need to purchase and install the DJI Ground Station (also reviewed in this issue).

THE LAST

WORD

Once you get bit by the multirotor and aerial photography bug and cut your teeth on a smaller, action cam-equipped machine, the next logical progression is to get a machine that is capable of flying an SLR camera. With that, you will want the ultimate in stability, which is where the DJI Zenmuse gimbal comes in. If you build the system to fly with a pilot and a camera operator, you will effectively have a system that can capture very high quality and stable footage. The Gaui 840H is an excellent platform for this. It is made from high-quality components, is very rugged and is very easy to assemble. When you couple the 840H with the DJI Wookong-M or A2 flight controller, you have a machine that is easy to fly, stable, and very reliable. �

CONTACTSDJI INNOVATIONS empirerc.comEMPIRE RC empirerc.comFAT SHARK fatshark.com FUTABA futaba-rc.comGAUI gaui.com.tw IMMERSION RC immersionrc.com MAXAMPS maxamps.comSONY sony.comSPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com


TRANSMITTER

(for fl ight): Futaba 14SG

TRANSMITTER (for

camera): Spektrum DX18

FLIGHT CONTROLLER:

DJI Wookong-M with GPS module

OSD: DJI OSD Mark 2

BATTERY: (2) MaxAmps 6S

5450mAh 22.2V LiPo

GIMBAL: DJI Zenmuse Z15-N

3-axis brushless

CAMERA: Sony Nex 6

16.1mp w/12mm lens

VIDEO TRANSMITTER:

Immersion RC 600mW 5.8GHz

VIDEO GOGGLES (for

camera operator): Fatshark

Predator V2

PILOT REVIEW I GAUI 840H HEXACOPTER

We Used

50 MULTIROTOR PILOT

OUT OF THE BOX

It takes just a matt er of minutes to get the Vision ready for fl ight. Simply screw on your propellers, insert batt eries into the transmitt er, and att ach the range extender and smartphone holder onto your remote. Finally, apply the provided decals and you are good to go. This whole process takes less than 20 minutes, and everything you need, including the tools are in the box.

THE BRAIN

The Phantom 2 Vision is built around the

Naza-M controller, which is at the heart of this aircraft . The Naza-M has integrated GPS, which allows the Phantom to be extremely stable and easy to fl y, while having the speed and agility that would impress most hobby enthusiasts. This Naza-M features an impressive Return-To-Home (RTH) feature

DJI INNOVATIONS

HD Video, FPV and more!

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: DJI Innovations

DISTRIBUTOR: Empire RC

TYPE: Quadcopter

FOR: Beginner fl yers interested in advanced aerial photography


PRICE: $1,199

52 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Phantom 2PILOT REVIEW

by Jacob Clackey


VISION

The Phantom 2 Vision is the newest and most advanced DJI consumer-grade aerial platform. The Vision provides a real-time live view on your mobile device, which allows you to take photos and

videos and then share them on a variety of websites such as Facebook and YouTube. The video is transmitt ed to your mobile device via a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection with a maximum range of up to 300 meters. It also transmits real-time telemetry data and fl ight parameters as well. The Vision’s camera records in full 1080/30p or 1080/60i resolution with a wide 140 degree fi eld of view and it takes 14 megapixel stills. One of the best features of the Vision is the long, 25 plus minute fl ight times with the included batt ery. The fl ight controller is the Naza-M V2 with GPS autopilot system, which gives you unparalleled stability and performance with features like position hold and return to home.


that has saved many Phantoms,

including mine, from perilous disasters.

When you are in the air pushing the boundaries of the transmitt er

distance, you want to have a fallback plan. If the Phantom ever goes out of range of

the transmitt er, or if your remote batt ery fails, the RTH feature will automatically fl y the Phantom back to you and land

within two feet of the original takeoff spot. You must remember to wait for a GPS lock before taking off

each time to ensure

this feature works properly.

THE EYES

The next most important feature on this new bird is its eyes. The Phantom 2 Vision’s camera has some impressive specs. DJI manufactures

this camera, which takes 14 megapixel photos and shoots

in 1080p at 30 fps. The camera has a microSD card on the side to store the pictures and video

and they even include a 4GB microSD card. One of the best features however, is the capacity to shoot

in RAW format. By defi nition, RAW means “in its natural state, not processed.” You can bring the 14MP RAW photo into a program such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or Creative Cloud and use the built-in lens profi le support provided in most of these programs to take away the fi sh-eye look. You can also easily add color corrections.

THE FPV EXPERIENCE

The biggest separating factor between the Phantom 2 Vision and DJI’s other consumer-grade aircraft is the built-in FPV (First Person View) experience. Here’s how it works: The Phantom connects wirelessly to the Wi-Fi repeater that connects to your smartphone device. Using

the free DJI app, you can view live video coming from your Vision, along with OSD (On Screen Display). This means that not only will you be viewing the live feed; you will also be able to see batt ery life, altitude, make camera parameter adjustments (white balance, ISO, etc.) and

choose when to start and stop video or photos. In addition, you can view a radar screen from the app that will help guide you home if you lose sight of the Phantom. Also from the DJI app, you can control camera tilt up or down and wirelessly transmit photos and video from the Phantom to your smartphone, then from the app to social media.

THE ENERGY

One of the best new features of the Phantom 2 Vision is the DJI Smart Batt ery system. The batt ery that comes with this Vision is a 5200mAh lithium polymer batt ery (LiPo) that gives the Phantom 25 minutes of fl ight time, much longer than the 10-12 minute fl ights of the Phantom 1. The batt ery is called “smart” because it has built-in charge protection and maintenance reminders. However, the feature I am most excited about is the easy batt ery lock-in system. With the Phantom 1, you had to connect two wires by squeezing them

The Vision comes with a smartphone mount and a Wi-Fi repeater that attaches to the handle of the transmitter.

SPECSAIRCRAFT WEIGHT: 2.56 lbs. DIAGONAL LENGTH: 350mm BATTERY: 5200mAh LiPo HOVER ACCURACY: Vertical: 0.8m; Horizontal: 2.5m MAX TILT ANGLE: 35 degrees MAX ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED: 6m/s MAX FLIGHT SPEED: 15m/sAVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 25 minutesTRANSMITTER OPERATING FREQUENCY: 5.8GHZ TRANSMITTER EFFECTIVE DISTANCE: 300-500m BATTERIES: 4 “AA”

CAMERA CAMERA RESOLUTION: 14 megapixels WI-FI REPEATER DISTANCE: 300m FOV: 140/120/90 degrees SENSOR SIZE: 1/2.3

FUNCTIONALITY Supports multi-capture, continuous capture

and timed capture Supports HD recording (1080/p30 or 1080/60i) Supports both RAW and JPEG picture format

PILOT REVIEW I DJI INNOVATIONS PHANTOM 2 VISION

54 MULTIROTOR PILOT

together very fi rmly. The cords become harder to connect over time, and are fairly diffi cult to disconnect, tearing the wires slowly. The Phantom 2 batt eries are self-locking. You simply push the batt ery into the phantom and when it clicks, it’s ready to go. Taking it out is just as easy. With the Phantom 1, when you connect the batt ery it starts and when you disconnect, it turns off . With the Phantom 2, you press a butt on on the outside, then press again to start, and the same to turn off . The new batt ery saves you time and hassle. “There must be a catch,” you say? Well, yes. For these features you pay $159 for each batt ery, compared to $23 on the Phantom 1.

THE THRUST

Another important aspect of this new aircraft is the self-tightening props. Compared to the Phantom 1, where you had to place the props on then screw on the cap, these props are a dream. You simply set the props on the motors, then spin the prop and it’s locked on, that way it can never come off during fl ight. The caps on the Phantom 1 could come loose during fl ight and the prop would fl y off and you were guaranteed a crash.

HARD TO BELIEVE,

BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE CONS

As with any product, there are also some minor problems. First, there is no gimbal on the Phantom 2 Vision. Therefore when you are recording video, the video will not be as stable as it could be. This problem can be solved with a third party Vision camera gimbal. Check the upgrades section for

more information on this. Another problem with the camera is the fi sh-eye eff ect. You get this same eff ect with the GoPro where the object in view looks like the edges are curved. This problem can be solved while editing in Adobe Photoshop or other programs. A third problem is that there is no microphone on the camera so you cannot get the ambient sounds of the motors. The fi nal area of weakness is with fi le management. You can only get fi les from the Vision’s camera to another device by wirelessly transferring photos and videos to your smartphone. You cannot easily get them to a

computer except by ejecting the microSD card and using a card reader to get the fi les. The card reader is also the only way you can delete fi les off the card.

UPGRADES

As with most products there are always some things that can be improved or upgraded to meet specifi c needs of the owner/pilot. Sources like phantompilots.com and RCgroups.com come to the rescue. On these sites, you can get help with problems and get cool upgrades. Here are just a few of the most popular upgrades you can do on your Phantom. Be sure to check YouTube and other forums before att empting. The fi rst upgrade to try is antenna range improvement. Just install an antenna onto your Vision Wi-Fi repeater for as litt le as $50- $100 and extend the range of your link from about 1,000 feet to over 3,000 feet. Another opportunity for upgrade is with the camera. While the camera is great for photos, the Vision does not have a gimbal

SPECSAIRCRAFT WEIGHT: 2.2 lbs.DIAGONAL LENGTH: 350mm BATTERY: 2200mAh LiPo HOVER ACCURACY: Vertical: 0.8m; Horizontal: 2.5m MAX TILT ANGLE: 35 degrees MAX ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED: 6m/s MAX FLIGHT SPEED: 15m/s AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 12 minutes PRICE: $499.00

TRANSMITTER OPERATING FREQUENCY: 5.8GHZ TRANSMITTER EFFECTIVE DISTANCE: 300-500m BATTERIES: 4 “AA”

CAMERA CAMERA RESOLUTION: 720p/30fps WI-FI DISTANCE: 100m FOV: 100 degrees

So after reading this review, I am sure you are jazzed up and wanting to get your hands on a Vision, however if the $1,200 price tag is keeping you from pulling you the credit card, then the Phantom FC40 might be a great option. With a retail price of only $499, the FC40 comes with its own camera with a 720p/30fps HD resolution with an Android or iOS app to control it, just like the Vision. The video is transmitted using a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection providing a full FPV experience at distances up to 100 meters. The app/camera combo allows you a 10X digital zoon from the app with a low latency live preview. Many of the app

features are the same as the Vision; with the exception of the tilt control as the FC40’s camera does not have the tilt function. The mount is adjustable so you can preset the angle prior to fl ight. The FC40 also uses the Naza-M V2 fl ight controller so it has all of the same fl ight functionality as the Vision including position hold and return to home. If you are looking to get started with FPV and aerial video but don’t want to spend the $1200 for the Vision, the Phantom FC40 is a great machine with tons of features and excellent video quality.

LOWER BUDGET? GET THE PHANTOM FC40

The Vision uses a custom 5200mAh LiPo battery that has an integrated power button and battery level meter.

so the video is not very

stable. While there have been rumors about DJI releasing a gimbal for the Phantom 2 Vision, none have been confi rmed. A few manufactures stepped up and made one of their own. The two most popular gimbals are the Rotorpixel (rotorpixel.com) and the DRONExpert (dronexpert.nl) The Rotorpixel gimbal costs $389 and the DRONExpert costs $570, which includes a case. There are many tests and reviews on the internet for both gimbals. Another upgrade option is the purchase of a lens kit. DJI sells a lens adapter for the Vision camera that att aches onto the Vision lens and allows you to affi x any 46mm fi lter on your camera. The adapter costs $15. One fi nal, but expensive upgrade, is waterproofi ng. DSLRPros.com has a deal with Liquipel where you send your Phantom to DSLRPros and

they get it waterproofed. Your Phantom is treated with an invisible water-safe layer. If your Phantom falls in the water or mud, everything will still work perfectly. You can even throw your Vision in the pool, pull it out and fl y in 30 seconds. This service costs $400, but it may be worth it if you fl y above water oft en.

THE LAST WORD

The Phantom 2 Vision is a big step in the right direction for DJI and for the aerial hobbyist. This product integrates FPV, OSD, aerial photography and several new technologies in one simple, elegant device. The price point might be high for the average consumer hobbyist. In my opinion, the Vision is best for someone who is get-ting started in aerial video and photography and is looking for an all-in-one kit. It’s particularly suited for people who prefer great

photos to great video. If you fi t these catego-ries, this may be the best choice of aircraft for you at this time. However, if great pho-tos and FPV are not as valuable to you as the cash you would spend, and you want to save some money, then the Phantom FC40 is the way to go. �


EMPIRE RC empirerc.com


Below: The Phantom 2 Vision comes with a Wi-Fi repeater and smartphone mount that install directly onto the transmitter’s handle.

A GPS and compass module is a must-have enhancement

that enables the use of a few very useful functions of the Naza-M fl ight controllers. With this mod-ule, the controller is capable of GPS position hold, return-home fail-safe, intelligent orientation control (home lock and course lock), and ready to be used with the ground station module. The module’s GPS sensor and compass are depended on by the fl ight controller to accurately deter-mine the correct position and heading of your multirotor, and proper installation and calibration of this module is very important for a problem-free and smooth opera-tion of the machine. Taking time to learn how to set up this module cor-rectly may prevent a few very tense moments, crashes, or fl y-aways.

INSTALLATION

Choosing a proper location for the GPS module is perhaps the most important thing in the process. The unit comes with a small carbon-reinforced mast and some 3M VHB tape to help with the install. There are also other masts available. Collapsible masts are worth con-sidering if you’re looking to travel with your multirotor, since they make it easy to put the copter into a transport case. The module needs to be kept as far away from any sources of mag-netic interference as possible, and our machines laden with wires, motors, and other “noisy elec-tronics” are not exactly a friendly environment for them. As great of an idea as some shorter masts and mounts are, I can’t recommend put-ting the module closer to the top of the frame than at the length of the factory mast. If your ba ery is mounted to the top of the center plate, choose a loca-tion as far away from the ba ery as possible; best near the edge of the frame on either side of your ba ery pack. Leave at least three inches of

distance between the module and the ba ery. If the module is installed too close to the ba ery, the copter will behave very unpredictably and will be extremely diffi cult to control. Clean the mounting surfaces with a small alcohol pad and use the 3M VHB tape to a ach the bot-tom of the mast to the frame. This is my preferred method of mounting because I fi nd that things survive be er in crashes if they’re allowed to pop off . Alternatively you can use screws to fasten the bo om of the mast to the frame. Before taping the GPS “puck” to the top of the mast, run the cable to the PMU and make sure that this cable is not pressed against any sharp edges on the frame so it does not get cut. The arrow on the GPS unit should be pointed at the front of the copter, but its exact direction should be adjusted for magnetic declina-tion (the angle between magnetic north and true north) in your area. The declination slightly changes with area and time and the compass adjustment is necessary for the air-craft to fl y straight. The best website

by Petr Hejl

HOW TO

GPS/Compass UnitInstall and setup a

Petr Hejl uses multirotor

aircraft as a way to

combine things that he is

passionate about into a

new way of capturing a

moment or telling a story.

He uses his multirotor

machines to capture

amazing aerial video and

photos and enjoys fl ying

in many unusual places.

Petr is an advocate for

commercial and safe use of

multirotor aircraft and has

been recently highlighted

on CNN’s iReport. You can

contact him or see some

of his work on his website

www.NOTaDRONE.com.

for a DJI Naza-M V2

Collapsible masts are worth considering if you’re looking to travel with your multi-rotor, since they make it easy to put the copter into a transport case.

Lift the copter at the tips of opposing pairs of arms and see if it stays balanced.

56 MULTIROTOR PILOT


I found to determine the magnetic declination in your area is ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag-web. This web-site also has a mobile version that uses your smartphone’s location and displays a picture of a com-pass adjusted for declination on your phone’s screen. Turn the GPS (clockwise for positive, coun-ter-clockwise for negative) so that the arrow on the GPS points in the same direction as the mag-netic north in the picture on your phone. There are four tiny adhe-sive strips in the box that can be used to mark the true and mag-netic north directions on the unit. Check the declination and readjust it if you travel further away from your usual fl ying area. Slightly adjusting the direc-tion of the module can also help resolve situations in which the copter does not track straight (it turns right or left when moving forward, also known as a “toilet-bowl eff ect”). In cases when compass calibration and checking the mounting location parameters in the assistant soft-ware (both procedures described further) don’t resolve this issue, simply turn the unit (very slightly) in the direction opposite to the direction it’s trying to track in. For proper operation, com-pass calibration (known

as “Naza dance”) must to be done every time you adjust the direction the GPS module is pointed in.

SETTING UP YOUR GPS IN

THE NAZA-M ASSISTANT

Before se ing up the GPS in the assistant, add all gear on your copter (the camera, ba ery, etc.), and make sure that the aircraft is balanced. Simply lift the cop-ter at the tips of opposing pairs of arms and see if it stays bal-anced. If it tips to one side, shift the gear (electronics, ba ery) around until it’s balanced. For ideal performance, the Naza-m fl ight controller unit should be mounted as close to the center of gravity as possible, with the usual mounting location being the middle of the center plate, and the arrow on it pointed at the nose of the copter. You’ll need to measure and enter the distance from the center of the GPS module to the center of gravity in the assistant soft-ware, under the Basic-Mounting tab. Use a ruler to measure the distance along the three axis (the value needs to be entered in cen-timeters, 1 cm = 0.39 in.), and enter the measured values into the X, Y, Z fi elds. Be sure to cor-rectly enter whether the value is

positive or negative; use the dia-gram in the assistant software as a guide. If your machine is very bo om-heavy, or the fl ight con-troller is mounted too far above the CG, you can account for this by adding more distance on the Z-axis; on most copters I found it to be no problem to sim-ply measure the Z-axis from the center of the bo om plate. Next, open the IMU cali-bration menu under Tools tab. This menu helps you calibrate the IMU sensors and the com-pass. It is advisable to check the mod values and re-calibrate after the initial install, any soft-ware upgrades, or any IMU or GPS re-installs (change of loca-tion). Hover your mouse over the “question mark bubble” on the IMU calibration screen to

reveal a box that explains what the normal and abnormal mod values are, and when the basic or advanced IMU calibrations should be performed. Keep the unit away from any mag-nets or large metal objects when performing the calibration. A message informing you that the “MC temperature is too high” and instructing you to let it

“cool off ” may appear. For some reason this message always appears during advanced cali-bration (up to the 2.20 assistant software), no ma er what the temperature of the unit is. The IMU calibration will still pro-ceed (watch the green progress bar in the assistant) and the message disappears after it.

ENHANCED FAILSAFE AND

INTELLIGENT ORIENTA-

TION CONTROL

If you haven’t yet, you may now set-up the failsafe under Advanced-F/S. The failsafe set-ting decides what the copter does in case the transmi er signal is lost, and the GPS module ena-bles the use of Go-home&Land feature. Please, read the fail-safe instructions on the assistant

screen, and learn how the failsafe operates before you use it. You can also enable the ori-entation lock modes under the Advanced/IOC tabs. These are a great help especially in aerial vide-ography. Get yourself familiar with the home/course lock functions by reading the description on the assistant screen, and practice fl ying in these modes in open areas.

Turn the GPS (clockwise for positive, counter-clockwise for negative) so that the arrow on the GPS points in the same direction as the magnetic north in the picture on your phone.

Clean the mounting surfaces with a small alcohol pad and use the 3M VHB tape to at-tach the bottom of the mast to the frame.

58 MULTIROTOR PILOT

INSTALL AND SETUP A GPS/COMPASS UNIT FOR A DJI NAZA-M V2

COMPASS CALIBRATION,

AKA THE NAZA-DANCE

The basic compass calibration (sometimes called “the Naza-dance”) is an important procedure done outside of the assistant software (and not to be confused with the IMU calibration). Perform a compass calibration every time you: 1) Fly in a diff erent location, 2) Change or re-position any electronic or mechanical components on the machine, 3) Change the direction the GPS module is pointed in, 4) When the fl ight direction is not straight (shifting to right/left) and 5) When the LED module indicates GPS abnormality by fl ashing alternately yellow and red. It is ok for this code to fl ash occasionally, but if the unit fl ashes this code continuously or every few

seconds, switch your copter from the GPS to the ATTI mode, land it, and calibrate it. To perform the compass calibration, bring the copter outside, away from any possible sources of magnetic interference (cars, steel reinforcement, wires above or underground, magnetite), and remove any ferromagnetic materials from your pockets (keys, cellphone). Turn the transmi er and the copter on, and then quickly toggle the fl ight mode switch 6-10 times between its two end positions (GPS/Failsafe or GPS/Manual, depending on your se ing). The LED will turn on constant yellow, indicating the calibration mode. Grab the copter by two opposing arms, lift it slightly off the ground (keep it level), and rotate it slowly 360 degrees clockwise until the LED turns constant green (the easiest way to do this is to walk around in the small circle while holding the machine in the middle, thus the Naza-dance). Set the machine back down (LED still solid green) and lift it again, this time with the nose of the copter pointing straight to the ground. Rotate the copter slowly 360 degrees clockwise again until the LED turns off ,

and you’re done. If the LED keeps blinking red, fl ip the fl ight mode switch to exit the calibration mode and start over.

THE LAST WORD

Take time and care when se ing up your GPS/compass and you will be rewarded with an amazing fl ying machine with some very useful functionality. �

CONTACTDJI INNOVATIONS empirerc.comEMPIRE RC empirerc.com NOTADRONE notadrone.com


Measure and enter the distance from the center of the GPS module to the center of gravity in the assistant software, under Basic-Mounting tab.

Hover your mouse over the “question mark bubble” on the IMU calibration screen to reveal a box that explains what the normal and abnormal Mod Values are, and when should the basic or advanced IMU calibrations be performed.

Grab the copter by two opposing arms, lift it slightly off the ground (keep it level), and rotate it slowly 360 degrees clockwise until the LED turns constant green (the easiest way to do this is to walk around in the small circle while holding the machine in the middle, thus the Naza-dance)

SAVE MONEY AND MODIFY YOUR OWN

WIRING!

Summit Aerospace Supply has the wires you need.

SASI is a stocking supplier for many types of wire & cable and specializes in silicone insulated wire that has extreme fl exibility. This wire is perfect for radio control enthusiasts:

• Increase voltage• Modify power sources• Make your own Y harness (see the how to in this issue on page 50).

SASI has a variety of sizes and colors available; cut packages or by the foot.

Call us to fi nd out more

(866) 299-2118WWW.SUMMITAEROSPACE.COM


Winter Flying Tips and Tricks

About the AuthorPetr Hejl uses multirotor aircraft as a way to combine things that he is passionate about into a new way of capturing a moment or telling a story. He uses his multirotor machines to capture amazing aerial video and photos and enjoys fl ying in many unusual places. Petr is an advocate for commercial and safe use of multirotor aircraft and has been recently highlighted on CNN’s iReport. You can contact him or see some of his work on his website www.NOTaDRONE.com.

Story and photos by Petr Hejl

As someone living in the Northeast, I did not want to sit idly through the winter and envy our friends down south their fl ying-friendly climate, so I fi gured out a few handy

tricks to help me fl y in winter. Flying in snow and freezing temperatures presents a few challenges: limited batt ery life, britt le materials (prop plastic, arms, etc.), and a real diffi culty to “keep it smooth” with fi ngers frozen to the bone.

WINTER-PROOF THE PILOT

Put on some layers and good boots when planning to stay outdoors and fl y for prolonged periods of time. There are various transmitt er mitt s available for you to put over the transmitt er and just slip your hands in through the sleeves. Choose one that fi ts your transmitt er and be aware that you may need to slightly modify it if you use a monitor bracket on your transmitt er. It is not necessary to use gloves in the mitt ; the only setback is that the mitt tends to fog up a bit. I keep a silica gel pack inside to help with that. To keep your hands protected outside of the mitt , I recommend using thin, touch-screen-friendly gloves (i.e. North Face e-tip). They work on touch screens, which is important if you’re using your

smartphone or tablet as a part of your setup, and you can do almost all fl ying-related tasks (changing batt eries, small repairs, even fl ying)

without ever having to take them off . If your hands are still cold, you can stick a couple of self-adhesive warmer pads to the sides of the transmitt er, or even place some small warmer pads inside of your gloves.

WINTER-PROOF YOUR MACHINE

Some fl ight controllers will just simply refuse to take off when the ambient temperature is below their operating range. The key to keeping the machine warm (inside of a car) until it’s time to fl y is to fi nd the sensors/components that are most eff ected by low temperatures and keep them “warm” by placing a warmer pad

over them (loosely, be careful not to obstruct any sensor openings). I do this by inserting a small warmer pad in between the center plates, just over the PMU and the MC. On very cold days, I stick another adhesive warmer pad to the top plate. Put all warmer pads in place before you leave to go fl ying, so you don’t freeze your fi ngers trying to set all this up outdoors. Plastic parts become very britt le in freezing temperatures. Keep that in mind during “spirited fl ights” that the props are easier to snap. I fi nd soft er plastic props to perform bett er than their carbon-reinforced counterparts. The gimbal and camera wires get stiff and can cause image “wobbles” by putt ing too much pressure on gimbal motors. Wrapping the wires around a screwdriver to shape them like a telephone cord helps with that. Consider wrapping your gear skids with thicker (wider) insulation foam to ease the landings in soft snow; your gimbal and camera will thank you.

WINTER-PROOF

THE BATTERIES

The fl ight time tends to decrease quite a bit in the freezing temperatures. Wrap your batt eries before you leave to go fl ying and try keeping them in a warm place unless they’re on the copter. Stick a body warmer pad (the kind with one slightly self-adhesive side works the best) on the batt ery, and put it in a bott le koozie with zipper. Leave

the batt ery like that throughout the day, whether in use or transport and you’ll experience no decrease in fl ight time.

THE LAST WORD

Don’t let the cold weather stop you from enjoying multirotor model fl ight. These tips will help keep you and your aircraft comfortable and make even the most frigid temperatures tolerable. Most of all, just keep reminding yourself that spring is coming! �

Choosing a fl ight controller for your multirotor can be an overwhelming decision. Often, many enthusi-

asts or professionals are left to scour forums with thousands of posts or rely on reviews from hobby retailers. In the past, when the ultimate in reliability and perfor-mance was paramount, most considered the DJI Wookong-M as the go-to controller. With stunning fl ight performance, simple confi gu-ration, rock-solid stabilization and incredible reliability, the Wookong-M represented the pinnacle of technology. Although many users, like me, were very satisfi ed, those using multirotor frames plagued with vibra-tion-related issues pushed the limits of even the mighty Wookong-M. In August 2013, DJI responded by raising the bar with the tech-nological marvel called the A2.

COMPONENTS

When unboxing the A2, the fi rst impression is that the images online simply do it no justice. With all components CNC-milled from billet aluminum, the A2 fl oods the senses with its jewel-like appearance and stunning craftsmanship. The GPS antenna/compass now sports “Pro” in the name, and is substantially larger than before. The IMU and PMU have been updated with addi-tional CANbus connection ports, which allow you to connect more accessories than ever. The LED module has Bluetooth func-tionality for easy confi guration changes via smartphone or tablet and a USB port should you need to connect via computer. Naturally, a GPS mount, a myriad of cables, wires and other items are included for installation in any multirotor.

FEATURES

The main controller now includes a built-in Futaba-compatible receiver with S.Bus support, as well as support for external receivers. Spektrum radio fans will appre-ciate the ability to plug small Spektrum satellite receivers directly into the main con-troller if desired. The internal receiver does lend to a tidier and cleaner installation, but the biggest advantage to the A2 in this department comes from channel support. Where the Wookong only gave you a few channels that you could assign to functions, the A2 is 100 percent customizable and sets you free from these limitations. Simply click “unmapped” on any one of the confi gurable channels and it will let you assign a function to it. Pick a channel on your radio to corre-spond to that and you’re done. Now pilots can simultaneously control gains, camera functions, gimbal control, retractable land-ing gear, fl ight modes, GPS modes, return to home and even actuate relays to turn devices on or off . There is even a feature which will automatically lower your land-ing gear when you are less than fi ve meters in altitude if you like. With all your favorite features mapped to your radio, you can

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: DJI Innovations

DISTRIBUTOR: Atlanta Hobby

TYPE: Multirotor fl ight controller with GPS

FOR: Advanced pilots

PRICE: $1399.00

60 MULTIROTOR PILOT

DJI A2PRODUCT

REVIEWby Joe Papa

Flight ControllerFEATURES Supports nine types of multirotors and

a customized motor mixer

Intelligent orientation control

Point of interest capability

Intelligent landing gear function

Auto return-to-home/one-key go home

One motor fail protection

Futaba S.Bus support

Spektrum satellite support

2-axis and 3-axis gimbal support

DJI Ground Station support

External receiver support

The A2 is installed on my octocopter.


break free from the need or concern of hav-ing a laptop with you when you fl y.

INSTALLATION TIPS

It’s critical to pay close a ention to the A2’s manual, as the CANbus ports on the main con-troller are optimized for certain components and are not interchangeable. This is espe-cially important when combining the A2 with optional accessories from DJI like on-screen dis-play modules (OSD), Zenmuse camera gimbals or the iPad Ground Station Data Link. The IMU should be mounted as close to the center of gravity as possible and the GPS antenna, which is more sensitive and capa-ble than ever, must be located as far from the main ba eries, wires or other magnetic fi elds as possible. With several components and connections to consider, fi nding a way to mount things neatly without blocking access to CANbus ports or other important connections can be challenging, especially in smaller frames. I recommend securing all wiring with zip ties to the frame if possible and when you’re completely satisfi ed with your installation, add a touch of hot glue to the CANbus cables where they enter the main controller. Reliability of these connec-tions is critical, and no wire should be able to vibrate or fl ap around. When assembling the mount for the GPS, lightly sand the last half inch of the carbon fi ber post before using epoxy to improve adhesion. Ensure your GPS and IMU point forward.

CONFIGURATION AND SETUP

Although the A2 incorporates an internal receiver, I opted to utilize an external Futaba S.Bus 14-channel receiver that was included with the 14SG. The internal receiver on the A2 as of now does not support telemetry, and I prefer to have fl ight pack voltage displayed on my radio, as well as vibration alerts when my ba ery reaches about 21 volts. Anything to reduce the risk of a crash or pilot error or other event is an added layer of insurance. If you use an on-screen display or Ground Sta-

tion app, you may choose to use the internal receiver, as fl ight pack voltage is available there as well. Connection using S.Bus requires only one wire to the A2. You’ll need a PC or a Mac to download and install the latest A2 Assistant software and driver. Without props installed, I pow-ered up the A2 and connected to the LED with the included USB cable. I launched the software and proceeded with installation of the latest A2 updates. After the updates, the software will allow you access to its brilliantly clean and intuitive interface. Your radio and receiver should be on and if the bind process has been completed, you will be able to see indications of stick and switch movements in real time on the screen. Move through each of the tabs and when in doubt, hover over a function with your mouse and helpful hints appear and guide you along. One important step is to set the IMU and GPS position in relation to the center of gravity. I found the entire pro-cess of setup on the A2 to be painless and trouble-free. The software is clean, elegant and easy to understand. Operation on either a Mac or PC is a pleasure, and the app for the iPhone connects every time and works fl awlessly. I took my octocopter outside, performed a GPS calibration, performed my usual pre-fl ight checks and eagerly prepared to get this bird in the air.

INTELLIGENT ORIENTATION, COURSE

LOCK, HOME LOCK AND POI

Orientation modes are very important to understand and can lead to confusion if not fully familiar with their characteristics and

LED light indicators. While seasoned 3D heli pilots rarely see the need for these features, newer pilots will fi nd course lock extremely valuable and simplifi es fl ight signifi cantly. With a three-position switch of your choice, you will have the option to have this feature Off , in Course Lock or Home Lock. Wookong owners will be pleased to know that the order of these can be changed, and the POI (point of

The new GPS Compass Pro is much larger than the previ-ous model and is much more accurate.

The A2’s PMU (Power Management Unit).

DJI’s Bluetooth LED unit.

interest) feature can be substituted for course lock or home lock functions. The best descrip-tion of these functions is as follows:

Off – Whatever direction the front of the multirotor faces will be the direction it will fl y when you move the right stick forward.

Course Lock – When powering up, the A2 will quickly fl ash green 10 times when it recognizes the direction it is facing. This direction will be the forward direction for the pilot and the multirotor even if you rotate or yaw the copter. It eff ectively turns the right stick into a joystick, and makes fl y-ing easy, fun and safe.

Home Lock – This is good for ge ing the multirotor home by moving the right stick for-ward; the copter will come back to the home point from wherever it is. This mode can be confusing at fi rst, as it is disorienting to move the right stick forward and see the multi move in a direction you aren’t expecting. Because of this, options exist to have the copter come back nose in, or tail. I highly recommend disabling home lock until you are totally and completely comfortable with its behavior or have prac-ticed it in a large open space.

PERFORMANCE

With my Carbon Core Octocopter pow-ered up, I waited for the A2 to lock onto satellites. Much to my surprise, it did so in a fraction of the time I was accustomed to, and while the Wookong-M would routinely acquire approximately 7-9 satellites, the A2 was over 12 in under a minute. In a i-tude mode, I initiated the motors with my transmi er sticks by moving both to the bot-tom right corners, and then I slowly moved the thro le up to the mid-point. The Octo-copter smoothly lifted off without incident and calmly hovered steadily at about 20 feet elevation. I reached up on the 14SG and uti-lizing the new functionality, was able to adjust my gains with a simple turn of the left and right dials located in the center. Condi-tions outside were about 30 degrees F with light wind. As I began to fl y some basic pat-terns, an unfamiliar level of smoothness and refi nement that I had never before expe-rienced became evident. I switched into GPS hold and gasped in amazement as the A2 appeared to hold the a itude and posi-tion with such precision and authority that the sky, clouds and octocopter appeared as though it were a still photograph in front of

me. The octocopter hovered as if suspended from the clouds by a string. Since the maiden voyage I have logged over 100 fl ights on two separate A2 control-lers. One is mounted on a 1200mm coaxial hex and the other is a 1000mm fl at octocop-ter with a Zenmuse Z15 and Canon 5D Mark III. I’ve fl own the A2 in conditions ranging from calm to 30 mph gusts of wind, light snow, heavy fog, and temps as cold as zero degrees. When switching from GPS to A i, the Wookong would always drop about a foot of altitude, even with the V2 IMU. The A2 makes the fl ight mode change without a single shred of evidence. In high winds the A2 is relentless at maintaining its position, and the POI function is far more accurate at keeping the object centered in the cameras view. Having the functions I need assigned to the switches I want without compro-

mise justifi es the upgrade alone. Factor in the countless other improvements, and it becomes startlingly apparent that the A2 isn’t a Wookong in a pre y package, but a serious tool designed to protect your invest-ment, and perform without incident.

THE LAST WORD

If you are a serious enthusiast looking for more functionality, or a professional look-ing to fl y cameras worth more than some homes, the A2 is completely unrivaled, represents the state of the art and is a mas-terpiece of engineering—the new standard by which all others will be judged. �

CONTACTSATLANTA HOBBY atlantahobby.com DJI INNOVATIONS dji.com


PRODUCT REVIEW I DJI A2 FLIGHT CONTROLLER

62 MULTIROTOR PILOT

Mapping channels is very easy and robust with the new Assistant software.

Main setup screen of the A2 Assistant software.

Nine aircraft type are availble.

The A2 Assistant software lets you enter your offsets for the location of the IMU and GPS units.


Atlanta Hobby is one of the largest retailers in the United States with a very heavy

focus on multirotor aircraft . We caught up with Cliff Whitney, the owner, to ask him a few questions about his company and his view of the multirotor market.

MULTIROTOR PILOT: How long as Atlanta Hobby been in business?CLIFF WHITNEY: I started the business in 1978 as Whitney’s Glider Supply in Charlott e, NC. It was a part-time business, as I was working for a small but growing photo specialty company. From there I moved the company to Chatt anooga, TN, and located the shop on a mountain so we could ridge-soar our gliders, our hang gliders and our full-size sailplanes all we wanted. Fift een years ago we moved the business to Atlanta and changed the name to AtlantaHobby.com.

MP: You call yourself the “multirotor experts.” How do you support that market?CW: I love supporting and working in fast-moving markets. I love industries in change and being an electric-based aircraft shop and a full-size airplane and sailplane pilot, who knew photography and video production, I saw the technology that was starting to happen and I invested heavily in the multirotor business. We eat and breathe this stuff and I am blessed to have formed a stellar team of expert associates to support our endeavors.

MP: What are your main product lines in this market?CW: We are focused on multirotors and are specialists in the photography and video areas (from my photography background). We also have in development several fi xed-wing aircraft that we are deploying in the agricultural markets.

MP: Some of these systems, especially with FPV and the higher-end fl ight controllers, can have a steep learning curve; do you provide support?CW: Absolutely, some of the high-end fl ight control systems can be daunting but this is what sets our company apart. We have a dedicated staff of specialists for each of our product lines. We will take the time to educate our potential clients and listen to their needs so they get the exact systems for their requirements. We also have a dedicated technical support and repair staff and off er full training programs to be sure clients are fully up to speed as they take delivery of their equipment. We answer the phones and will support customers even if the equipment was not purchased from us.

MP: Do you provide turnkey packages for those customers who don’t want to build?CW: Yes, that is one of our specialties. We have built systems for the military, the forestry service and almost all major motion picture studios, not to mention thousands of production houses and professional photographers. From smaller systems for hobbyists and real estate agents, insurance adjusters and municipalities to larger ones used in programs that I can’t talk about, we will spec, build, program, test-fl y and then train the owners until they are fully up to speed. MP: Can you tell us about any cool non-hobby applications that you have worked with clients on? CW: We have worked with one of the major technical colleges with scientists who have developed algorithms to take our photography and calculate complex roof

lines for roofi ng companies to use for estimating material usage prior to construction. We have also worked with a major soft ware company specializing in the CAD space to take our data/photos and use them for building sophisticated 3D models. Imagine a farmer having a big, oddly-shaped pile of dirt and needing to know the total volume so he can take it to market. We can fl y over it and photograph it and then feed it into the soft ware and it will render a 3D model of it and from there any calculation is possible. We also worked with one photographer on a major motion picture who took a unit we built to Chernobyl in Russia. Very cool footage here, I could go on and on as it is the wild, wild west right now. MP: Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers? CW: I love introducing kids to this hobby. Five years ago our average customer was 64 years young. In the past couple of years I have seen it drop dramatically into the 20’s and 30’s. This multirotor side of the industry is allowing us to get kids and young adults off the couch, away from the video games and outside to use this cool new technology. The copters are so easy to fl y that I will let any 5-7 year old (with proper supervision) fl y the DJI Phantom. They get excited and can understand the computer side of things, they know what a GPS is and how to program a fl ight path. The kids are our future and they get this stuff and it is very cool to see them take hold of it. This technology has such a positive aspect for kids in science and math not to mention the benefi ts to industry. The economic impact for our country is so great with these machines; it is an exciting time to be in this business and to be alive!

For more information visit atlantahobby.com

Inside Atlanta Hobby WITH CLIFF WHITNEY

By The Editors

FPV Controller

EAGLE TREE SYSTEMS

A flight controller built for pilots ...by pilots

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Eagle Tree Systems

TYPE: Flight control system for multirotors

and fi xed-wing models


MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Baseball fi eld

PRICE: $279.99

ITEMS INCLUDED/NEEDED: Includes the base controller unit, the GPS/

Magnetometer and the Current Sensor/PSU.

No FPV equipment is included. You must

provide your own FPV system to use the OSD

features of the controller.

64 MULTIROTOR PILOT

VECTOR

FIRST LOOKby Joe Cannavo

As the world of multirotor plat-forms expands by leaps and bounds, there remain only a few

select manufacturers for the fl ight control units for such aircraft. We all know who the big names are, as well as a few of the lesser known brands, but the fact of the ma er is that there are very few options when considering a control system for a shiny new multirotor. Eagle Tree Systems looks to change that with the release of their Vector fl ight control system. Not only does this unit give pilots another option for an all-in-one system, but it also adds a ton of key features that other controllers do not include. Perhaps the coolest part about the Vector is that it can be used in fi xed-wing aircraft as well as multirotor platforms. After glancing over the manual for the Vector system, the thing that stood out the most to me was the fact that a PC is not needed for most of the basic programming. I can easily recall many, many sleepless nights a ributed to the fact that my limited knowledge of PCs and fl ight control boards had often ended up with a broken keyboard. For some systems, it’s nearly impossible to even fi nd a decent manual, much less fi nd a source for tech support. Eagle Tree aims to squash the PC-phobia that is all too relevant in the world of multirotor programming with the release of the Vector system. Most basic programming can be performed via the transmi er on the OSD which is a wel-

come feature, not having to lug my laptop to the fl ying site. The PC interface for the Vec-tor is also easier to navigate than most other software programs designed to assist the user, so the main intent of Eagle Tree for the transmi er program is really to make on-the-fl y adjustments to the system while out in the fi eld. Whatever program features that you might need to change on the control-ler are displayed in plain sight, right on the OSD. No need for a PC and USB cable. The OSD seems to be the one facet that the folks at Eagle Tree really focused on when developing this new system. While there is no actual FPV system included with the Vec-tor, pre y much any of the widely available transmi er and receiver combos will work. The idea behind the key features of the OSD and its interaction with the main fl ight control-ler are designed to be easily interpreted at a glance, off er quick tuning and allow the pilot a greater measure of control and safety than ever before. Perhaps the coolest feature of the OSD on the Vector is the addition of color dis-plays. One can choose either numeric data info with fl ashing alarms or graphs with cus-tom color thresholds. One can also set up what Eagle Tree refers to as “swatches,” whereas there will be a visible alarm blinking over whatever bit of info requires the pilot’s a en-tion. As with all things in life…everything in moderation. This holds true for the OSD info as well; in that there is so much data that can be displayed, it could make your head spin.

The nice part about the data display is that each individual pilot can simplify it to what-ever degree they want or crank up the features available if they so choose. The other features found on the Vector sys-tem are those that most of us are accustomed to from our experience with other fl ight con-trol systems, except that they will be easier to program when using the Vector. Eagle Tree went a long way, taking two years, to develop this system and they kept ease of use at the top of their priority list. We used our Next Level hexcopter as the test machine for the Vector and let’s just say we were very impressed with how easy the machine is to fl y and how simple it is to make tuning adjustments on a whim, without the need for a PC. The price is right in line with most pop-ular fl ight control systems and the Vector packs a ton of features into its programming that other units do not off er. At the time of writing this article, the production units had not been released, but the Vectors should be available by the time you are reading this. Got a multirotor or FPV fi xed wing? Get a Vector…you won’t be sorry. �

CONTACTS EAGLE TREE SYSTEMS eagletreesystems.com

NEXT LEVEL MULTIROTORS nextlevelmulti-rotors.com


KEY FEATURES OSD (on-screen display) with color graphics that

will continue working even if your camera fails

Multirotor and fi xed-wing capable with GPS and

RTH (return to home) functions

Very simple to set up and operate with no PC

required for most features

Included wire harness simplifi es the usual mess

involved with wiring a multirotor


Fatshark FPV camera and Predator V2 goggles used with the Vector.

RC LOGGER

Hold steady and look out!

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: RC Logger

DISTRIBUTOR: RC Logger

TYPE: Micro quadcopter

FOR: Beginner to advanced multi-rotor pilots

MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Indoor small

spaces/outdoor in light wind conditions

PRICE: $129.99

66 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PILOT REVIEWby Greg Vogel

RC EYE One X

My fi rst experience with RC Log-ger was at the iHobby trade show and although I took a look at the

product, I spent more time talking to the crew behind the U.S. arm of the com-pany. The guys were a wealth of knowledge about the products they represented, but more importantly, they were hobbyists and most important of all, they liked having a good time with the product. Their excite-ment drew me into the RC Logger line and now I’ve moved on from small low-cost quads to the RC Logger Eye One Xtreme that boasts a lot of features for which I was looking in a next level multirotor. The EOX has several fl ight modes and an altitude hold that will allow me to take be er video, since I had also picked up the optional Aer-ial kit. The cost is right, the ability is there and this machine has great backing…is it your next quad? I’m aiming to see if it fi ts my multi-rotor needs.

IN THE BOX

This fi rst thing I did was gaze upon the EOX. It looks pre y simple yet techy for a multi-rotor under one-hundred and fi fty beans. Starting at the center, under the black plastic Reese’s Peanut Bu er Easter egg-shaped cover are two layers of circuit boards li ered with the latest electronic components that make up the 6-axis gyro, accelerometer, speed controls, 2.4GHz receiver and altitude hold that you don’t need to worry about unless you plan on tweaking the system to accept an aftermar-ket Onelink or PPM capable radio. If this is the case you’ll notice a few pins that are used to make the radio install possible with some program work. The circuit boards mount to a plastic frame with aluminum tubes extending from the body to the brush-less out-runner motors and mounts. Red legs and a number of colored LEDs help identify the quad’s direction. An 800mAh 2S LiPo ba ery comes with the kit and its single power connector is basically the balance connector as well. To

SPECS

FLYING WEIGHT: 5.54 oz. (without battery)

DIAMETER: 7.09 in. (without props)

HEIGHT: 3.15 in.

PROPELLER/MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER: 5.43 in. (138mm)

RADIO: 4-channel 2.4GHz (included)

MAIN MOTOR: Micro brushless (4 installed)

POWER SYSTEM: Receiver/ESC/mixer/6-axis

gyro/accelerometer (installed)

BATTERY: 800mAh 2S 7.4V LiPo

CHARGER: USB (included)

DURATION: 8 minutes

NEEDED TO COMPLETE: nothing

GEAR INCLUDED: Assembled RC Eye One

Xtreme micro-quad, USB charger, 800mAh bat-

tery, Mode 1 or Mode 2 transmitter, decal sheet,

, “AAA” batteries and warning instruction manual

PROS

Complete ready-to-fl y package when

purchasing the ready-to-fl y model with

transmitter, but can be purchased without

radio with OneLink for those who want to

install their own radio

Quality construction with plastic frame

and aluminum tubes extending to the

motor supports

Beginner mode is super easy to use with

thumb controls, making fi rst fl ights an instant

success and the fl ight level can be altered to

appease pros

Easily upgradable to hold a camera like the

popular GoPro or RC Logger Pro cameras

CONS Found the trims to wander slightly over the

period of a fl ight


Xtreme Author’s OpinionFor those of us starting on or going to the next level of multirotors and wanting the ability to strap on a camera to take full advantage of what these machines have to offer, the RC Logger Eye One Xtreme offers plenty of features, quality and performance that will make fl ight a success all while capturing the action at an affordable price.

PILOT REVIEW I RC LOGGER RC EYE ONE XTREME

IN THE AIR

68 MULTIROTOR PILOT

charge the pack, you simply plug it into the included USB-style charge and plug it into a powered USB socket, such as a computer, and let it dangle as it charges at 1000mAh per charging channel. Red LED lights inside the unit let you know the ba ery is charging and when it goes out, that’s your signal to install the ba ery to play. The radio is a rather simple video game-style unit with minimal frills, not even an LED to let you know the radio is on; that’s what a system of beeps is for and since I like things that beep, I’ll get used to no visual indicators. The radio has a plastic feel, but is comfortable and the gimbals are smooth. Trim bu ons allow you to adjust the model and the mode bu on lets you troll through the EOX’s ability, from beginner to sport to advanced fl ight. On top, bu ons let you do fl ip tricks once your confi dence level is ready. Beyond the box, you’ll need to go online to get the full instruction manual on every-thing that is inside the EOX as far as features go, and there you’ll also learn how to oper-ate the quad and get into those functions. In the event you need help, RC Logger is on hand to help determine an answer to what-ever issue may pop up.

THE LAST WORD

As primarily a RC surface guy, the rise in mul-tirotor popularity and technology has quickly gained my interest to take to the skies. Most of my experience has been with basic multi-rotors, but I was looking for more and when I chose to take that next step with RC Loggers Eye One Xtreme, it was the right step in my progression in this segment. The EOX is easy to use out of the box even for the fi rst time fl ier and its programming allows the fl ier to grow into the quad and successfully fl y it while performing tricks and even carry a camera payload to get extra entertainment from the platform. The quality is all there with the Eye One Xtreme and support from the RC Logger crew has been fantastic. �

CONTACTSRC LOGGER rclogger.com


The radio on/off button needs to be depressed and two beeps sound to let you know the radio is ready. I then plugged the battery in the EOX and strapped it to the frame. A small LED on top lets you know there is power to the system. With a small nudge on the throttle, the EOX didn’t spool up, so I went to the box and pulled out a manual deemed “Important Information.” Surely this will have a quick start guide. Step one of the guide, download the manual and the rest of the steps go over safety information. The manual is fairly lengthy and did clue me in to how to arm the EOX for fl ight, but it’s also fi lled with useful information that will aid in your success in fl ying the Eye One Xtreme. Then it was back to the conference room in the MultiRotor Pilot mag-azine offi ces. A quick down and left on the throttle stick armed the system and the rotors started spinning at a low rpm. Slowly I throttled up and the EOX separated from the ground ever so gen-tly and actually rather quietly. In beginner mode, the controls were extremely numb and I could slam the all the sticks with the exception of the throttle around without fearing disaster. The ease of use in beginner mode really allowed me to get a feel for the EOX and boosted my confi dence enough to head outside in sport mode for a more exciting fl ight. Before heading out, I stepped up the excitement a little more by adding the Aerial kit and a GoPro Hero3 camera. The kit requires you to swap out props, landing gear and battery

for larger units to accommodate for the camera’s weight. Then you snap the camera deck to the frame and stick the camera to it with some Vel-cro or two-sided tape and in my case I added an additional Velcro strap. With the EOX decked out and ready to be my eye in the sky, I headed outside and noticed the wind had dramatically picked up…fi gures. Wind was not going to stop me; I throttled up and set off to get some images of the roof of my house. The winter hasn’t been kind in these parts and I wanted to see if I might need to contact a roofer. When I landed after my video shoot, I did fi nd that unplugging the bat-tery is a bit of a pain with the Aerial kit on and you pretty much have to remove the camera deck to access the battery straps in order to tilt the battery out and unplug it. Back inside, I was impressed with the results of my video taking and on a side note, a little depressed about some shingle damage to my roof. Finally it was time for extra fun and I headed out in advance of a more sporty fl ight. The EOX is quick to react to stick input, probably a little to quick for my ability right now, but I did manage to pull off a few fl ips with success, which made me want to spend more time with the Eye One Xtreme to master its potential.

SONY

The new aerial video/FPV camera on the block

70 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PRODUCTSPOTLIGHT

by Joe Cannavo


The world of hand-held, purpose-built

POV cameras is ever expanding and while there are a few names that might be hovering around the top of that game, Sony looks to carve a niche out for themselves with their latest release of the Sony Compact POV Action Cam. The pint-sized camera is capable of still shots up to 11.9 megapixels, shooting and storing hours of HD video, comes with a new, fully waterproof case that is actually able to capture audio while submerged and is GPS enabled. A host of new design features off ers up an easier to use and easier to mount photography platform. Toss into the mix the fact that the Action Cam is also capable of Wi-Fi connectivity and it is readily apparent that Sony has just called out all other camera manufacturers to ante up. The latest edition of the Sony Compact POV Action Cam, the AS30V/B, is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the AS15. While the camera itself hasn’t necessarily received much of an update, the peripheral accessories and compatibility have grown by leaps and bounds. This newest version of the Action Cam features a new chest mount option, a new universal headband mount, a waterproof case that is audio-capable in addition to having external butt ons, and it now includes a car charger and is also capable of connecting to a Wi-Fi device to act as a remote screen. Not only have the camera’s accessories received a make-over, but so too has the soft ware been revised. The editing platform for videos and pictures incorporates a host of new features such as the ability to

capture GPS data to overlay location and/or speed to video. There is also a new split-screen feature that allows the use of multiple

camera shots to be displayed on one screen for viewing. The massive 170-degree viewing angle of the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens is sure to be a potent combo with such soft ware abilities.

MULTIROTOR USE

The market for two-axis gimbals for small, POV-type cameras still remains a fairly small market when considering pre-built and wired units. Such units are surely nice additions to any machine that will be enlisted to aerial photography duties, but they can also rarely be obtained for less than a couple hundred dollars. The two-axis brushless gimbal is a design that was found on thingiverse.com and employs a Martinez board from HobbyKing as well as two inexpensive brushless motors. Most widely available gimbals

Compact POV Action Cam

FEATURES SteadyShot image stabilization

Built-in Wi-Fi with one touch NFC connection for remote control and viewing via smartphone

Built-in GPS plots location and calculates telemetry

Six video modes including 1080/60p HD and 4X slow motion

Ultra wide 170 degree pro quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens

Exmor-R CMOS sensor with enhanced sensitivity for beautiful images

Rugged waterproof housing with universal tripod mount

Remote control operation with optional Live View Remote

High quality 12MP still images in photo mode

Built-in stereo mic

Memory Stick Micro and Micro SD/SDHC compatible

HDMI output for easy fi le transfer

CONVENIENCE FEATURES Date/time stamp

Media/battery indicator (recordable time and remaining capacity)

On-screen main indicators: recording mode; image stabilization; GPS tracking status; shooting mode status

Auto image management fi le repair

Fast playback (5-10 times)

PRICE: $299.99

SPECSCAMERA

CAMERA TYPE: POV action cam

COLOR: Black

SHUTTER SPEED: Auto control range: 1/30 - 1/10,000 (30fps)

MINIMUM ILLUMINATION: 6 lux

SCENE MODE(S): Auto/underwater

BACKLIGHT COMPENSATION: Auto

NOISE REDUCTION: Yes

WHITE BALANCE MODE: Auto

PROCESSOR: BIONZ image processor

PIXEL GROSS: Approx. 16,800K pixels

EFFECTIVE PICTURE RESOLUTION: Approx. 11,900K pixels (16:9)

IMAGING SENSOR: 1/2.3 in. (7.77mm) back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS Sensor

HDMI TERMINAL: Yes (HDMI micro)

MEMORY CARD SLOT: Memory Stick Micro and Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC compatible

HD OUTPUT: HDMI Out (micro) (sold separately)

USB PORT(s): micro-B/USB2.0 Hi-speed (mass-storage)

WI-FI: IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz band)

MULTI/MICRO USB TERMINAL: Yes

MICROPHONE INPUT: Stereo mini jack

LENS TYPE: Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens

FOCAL DISTANCE: f=2.5mm, f=1/8inch

APERTURE: F2.8

FOCAL LENGTH (35mm equivalent): f=15.3mm, f= 5/8 inch

ANGLE OF VIEW: 170 degrees (without SteadyShot), 120 degrees (with SteadyShot)

POWER REQUIREMENTS: 3.6V (battery pack)

BATTERY TYPE: NP-BX1

CHARGE ON CAMCORDER (Charging time with supplied battery): Approx. 4 hours, 5 min

VIDEO SIGNAL: HD: HDTV 1080/60p

VIDEO RESOLUTION: PS:1920x1080 60p (PS), 1920x1080 30p (HQ), 1280x720 30p (STD), 1280x720 60p/- (SLOW), 1280x720 120p/- (SSLOW), 640x480 30p (VGA)

AUDIO FORMAT: MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch

MOVIE RECORDING RATE (Average Bit Rate/VBR): HQ: Approx. 16Mbps / SSLOW: Approx. 24Mbps / SLOW: Approx. 12Mbps / STD: Approx. 6Mbps / VGA: Approx. 3Mbps

VIDEO FORMAT: MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

STILL IMAGE MODE: JPEG

STILL IMAGE MAX EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION: 11.9 megapixels

WEIGHT: Approx.90g (with battery)

DIMENSIONS: 31/32 in. x 1 7/8 in. x 3 ¼ in. (24.5 x 47.0 x 82.0mm)


today feature a mounting plate for more of a square-bodied camera, whereas the Action Cam is a traditional camcorder barrel shape. The custom-printed, locking jaw for the Sony cam works perfectly as it is fully adjustable for CG weight balance. We printed the gimbal on a Lulzbot TAZ 3 3D printer. This printer has proven to be invaluable as we continually work on multirotor projects. Aft er we factor in the cost of the motors and the controller board, we are looking at less than $100 for a very precise gimbal that when coupled with the Sony Action Cam, we have been able to get incredible results and extremely stable video. For more information on the gimbal visit multirotorpilotmag.com/sonygimbal.

IN FLIGHT

The Sony Action Cam was strapped fi rmly into our printed gimbal body and was mounted securely to the bott om of our Gaui 540H hexcopter for testing purposes. Employing a few sections of silicon fuel line in between the gimbal and batt ery mounting plate allowed for a bit of vibration dampening, while still remaining securely fastened to the frame of the aircraft should any mishaps occur. The 540H might not be an aerobatic machine, but when fl own in manual mode, it can get a bit squirrely, almost to the point of horizontal orientation if pushed hard enough in a banked turn. Putt ing the gimbal and camera through their paces by tossing the aircraft around aggressively was our sole intent. Surely if we couldn’t get the camera or gimbal to waiver, any weekend warrior should be more than satisfi ed with such a combo, no matt er what they might be applying it to. Through all of our off -kilter maneuvers, the custom-built gimbal held steady, allowing for wobble-free video to be captured. While the ability to capture audio while recording video is not necessarily sought aft er when concerning their use in multirotors (largely due to the sound of the props), it is important to point out a few features of the new case for the Action Cam. The original AS15 camera included a case that capable of submerging down to a depth of nearly 200 feet! This might be quite a feat, but the reality is that most users will never, ever approach such a depth and the design of such a case made it a litt le large and bulky when handling. The new case is only rated for depths down to sixteen feet, but it has two notable features. The fi rst is the inclusion of waterproof membranes to allow for audio transfer to the camera while still in the case. Got a hankering to go swim with some dolphins and record their songs? No problem. The other cool new feature of the case for the AS30V is that it now incorporates external butt ons, allowing for the use of the actual camera control functions without removing it from the case. Ever want to capture the beauty of the coral reefs on a scuba expedition without removing your precious camera from its safe housing? No problem.

THE LAST WORD

Sony looks to plant themselves fi rmly on the map of the POV action camera mountain with the release of their latest model, the Compact POV Action Cam AS30V. Really a refi ned version of the AS15, the new model features a ton of new soft ware upgrades as well as peripheral accessories that not only make the entire system easier to use, but also expand the capabilities of the camera. Couple the AS30V with a custom-built gimbal and what you’re left with is a potent combo that is just a competent and capable as any other out there for capturing aerial video, while doing it all for hundreds of dollars less. If you’re in the market for a new POV camera, no matt er what type of trails you might be hitt ing or toys you might be playing with, the new Sony Action Cam is sure to do everything you ask of it and more. �

CONTACTSEMPIRE RC empirerc.comLULZBOT lulzbot.comSONY sony.comTHINGIVERSE thingiverse.com


2-AXIS GOPRO 3 GIMBALFY-G3 FEIYU TECH

Rock-steady camera footage

72 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PRODUCTSPOTLIGHT

by Joe Cannavo


The DJI Phantom is an

incredible quadcopter with a lot of innovative features that make it a perfect machine for capturing video and still photography from the air. It comes with a fi xed mount for the GoPro camera and uses rubber dampeners to help stabilize the video. The video quality is good, but as the Phantom is bounced around by wind and operator controls, the video will follow the machine which can make for a dizzying experience, depending on how rough the conditions are. If you are looking for smooth and stable, Hollywood-like video, then the solution is a brushless gimbal. The Feiyu Tech FY-G3 is a two-axis gimbal designed specifi cally for the

GoPro Hero 3 video camera. It comes with a built-in controller board that is pre-programmed from the factory. This is a huge plus, as a lot of DIY gimbals and even some other commercially-available units require you to att ach them to your computer to set them up, which can be a daunting task, especially for the beginner. One of the reasons you most likely purchased the Phantom in the fi rst place was because it is ready to fl y right out of the box, so I think it will be safe to say that you will enjoy the fact that you can simply plug in the Feiyu Tech gimbal and start recording video from your Phantom. The Feiyu Tech gimbal is constructed of machined-aluminum with a beautiful black powder-coated fi nish. It uses two very powerful brushless gimbal motors that were specifi cally made for this device. The mount includes anti-vibration dampeners which greatly reduce the “jello” eff ect that many people see using a GoPro on a multirotor aircraft without dampeners. The unit also has a high angle of inclination; 55 degrees on the roll axis and -180 to +60 degrees on the pitch axis. There is a plug on the board to connect a harness to your Phantom’s controller board so that you can manually control the pitch and roll angles of the gimbal. Adjusting the pitch is the most common. This is handy when you want to aim the camera downward while in the air. This gimbal even allows you to aim the camera vertically so

you can shoot directly under the Phantom.

INSTALLATION

Installing the Feiyu Tech gimbal is simple and only takes about 15 minutes. It att aches to the stock mounting holes under the Phantom. The real trouble is gett ing power to the unit. It comes with a power harness with two bare wires on the ends. You need to connect them to your main batt ery. To make it so we can remove the gimbal from the Phantom without unsoldering wires, we installed a JST wire harness to the gimbal’s power harness and the other end of the JST harness to the Phantom’s main batt ery connectors. Rather than splice the wires into the Phantom’s power harness, I opted to replace the stock XT60 connector with E-fl ite’s EC5 connectors, since this is what I use on all of my batt eries. I reamed a hole in the bott om of the Phantom’s case to allow the JST connector to pass through. So now the power is applied to the gimbal as soon as I plug the batt ery into the Phantom.

THE LAST WORD

If you are looking for an excellent quality, highly stable video from your GoPro 3 camera on your Phantom, and don’t want to break the bank, I strongly recommend the Feiyu Tech FY-G3 Brushless Gimbal. Since the mount can be changed on the unit, you can easily adapt this gimbal to other models and even to an RC car for some live on-the-track action. �


E-FLITE e-fl iterc.com

FEIYU TECH gothelirc.com

GOPRO gopro.com


SPECSMANUFACTURER: Feiyu Tech

DISTRIBUTOR: GotHeliRC.com

APPLICATIONS: DJI Phantom, fi xed-wing aircraft, helicopter and car

WEIGHT: 178g

POWER REQUIREMENT: 3S-4S LiPo battery

INPUT VOLTAGE: 8-18V

ROLL ANGLE: -55 to +55 degrees

PITCH ANGLE: -180 to +60 degrees

STABILIZATION ANGLE: 0 degrees (roll) and

-90 to +30 degrees (pitch)

PRICE: $174.95


IN THE AIRI took the Phantom out to the parking lot to test it and had Walter, our photographer, there to get some fl ight photos. It was a very windy, a day which I normally would not opt to fl y, especially if I wanted stable video. After arming the Phantom and waiting for the Gimbal to initialize, I brought it into a hover, fl ying in manual mode, and positioned it so Walter could do his thing. Since I was in manual mode, I was fi ghting the wind, which was a great way to test the gimbal’s stability. I fl ew around for about 10 minutes and since I was not fl ying FPV, I had to wait until I got back into my offi ce to see how the video turned out. After downloading the video from the memory card, I was amazed at how stable it was. In the past I made my own brushless gimbal, which worked very well. However, this blew mine away in terms of raw stability. The only other gimbal that I’ve used before was the DJI Zenmuse, which offered very impressive video stability, however it costs almost $200 more than the Feiyu Tech FY-G3. In comparison, after watching video shot from both gimbals with the same camera, I honestly could not tell the difference.

Hexacopter550 FPVHEXTREME

High quality, fun to fly FPV hex

74 MULTIROTOR PILOT

PILOT REVIEWby Matt Maziarz

When Hobby Express decided that they wanted to get into the hex-copter game, they opted to design

their own machine rather than dis-tributing those of other manufacturers. Countless hours of research and testing yielded the Hextreme 550, a purpose-built aerial photography platform. Powered by the company’s own brand of eRC motors and ESCs, the 550 has ample giddee-up while remaining quite stable in any ori-entation. From the factory, the machine comes with a pre-soldered motor and ESC leads so assembly is a breeze. The unit even includes an FPV camera mount as well as those necessary for the video transmi er. While there are many fl ight control sys-tems on the market, it is most apparent that the 500 was designed with the DJI Naza-M system in mind as evidenced by the com-pass mast mounting plate that sits aft of the main frame. The folks at Hobby Express most defi nitely did their homework while designing the Hextreme 550 and they spared no expense in its construction.

» NEED TO KNOWMANUFACTURER: Hobby Express

TYPE: Hexacopter


MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Club fi eld PRICE: $830.00 (Kit with ESCs and motors)

NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Minimum six-channel transmitter and receiver, multirotor control board, propellers, three to four-cell LiPo battery and compatible charger. Extra

receiver channels can be used for remote ac-cess to gain adjustment and gimbal control.

SPECSFLYING WEIGHT: 3.8 lbs.

FRAME SIZE: 550mm

PROPELLERS: Three 8x5 CW, Three 8x5 CCW

RADIO: Flown with Hitec Aurora 9x transmitter and

a Hitec Maxima 9-channel receiver

POWER SYSTEM: (6) eRC brushless 480 motors,

(6) eRC 25 amp ESCs

FLIGHT CONTROLLER: DJI Naza-M V2 with GPS

(not included)

GIMBAL: Tarot 2-axis T2-D Brushless (not included)

CAMERA: GoPro Hero3 Black (not included)

BATTERY: MaxAmps 4S 14.8V 5450mAh 120C

LiPo (not included)

PROS Pre-soldered distribution board and ESCs means

no fi ddling with a hot iron for this build

Rigid alloy arms offer ample support for hauling

heavier camera rigs in addition to looking sharp

Super-tall landing gear (legs) allow the user to

mount any one of the variety of gimbals

and cameras on the market today

CONS Battery box only fi ts certain height batteries on

our test machine, but Hobby Express has already

addressed the issue with a larger box on all

machines to follow.

No printed or online manual


Author’s OpinionUpon opening the box for the Hex-

treme 550 Hex, I was surprised at just

how much they were able to cram into

such a small package. The idea of a

pre-soldered frame, which doubles as a

distribution board, as well as the motor

leads pre-installed on the arms are sure

to save some build time. The kit even

comes with LEDs that are pre-soldered

and while there are no printed or online

manuals to speak of, Hobby Express

does feature a how-to build video on

the website. I was able to assemble

the frame within one short evening and

had the electronics installed in another

night, eagerly anticipating some

warmer weather so I could get the Hex-

treme 550 up in the air.

76 MULTIROTOR PILOT

The main goal of this platform was to off er aspiring aerial photographers the opportunity to have another option when considering the purchase of a 500-class mul-tirotor for camera mounting. There are literally dozens of options for hexacop-ters, but the standout diff erence between the Hextreme 550 and all the rest is in the power. The eRC 480 motors joined to the eRC 25amp ESCs give this hex a power-to-weight ratio that is sure to be tops in the game. This setup, coupled with a carefully programmed Naza-M V2, renders a rock-solid platform in the stability department while also off ering up vertical climbing power to spare as well as an agility factor that most large multirotors are often lack-ing. The 8x5 props that are recommended for completion might seem small, but the 1000Kv motors really give the 550 a great deal of power, opening up the envelope of its fl ight characteristics and subsequently, its ability to capture great video.

The build process, while not diffi cult, does require a bit of patience as the only instructions are the videos that Hobby Express provides on their website. Said videos are perfectly effi cient for completing the build, but for an old-fash-ioned guy like me, a paper printed version would have been nice. For those that are expe-rienced in the facet of building, programming and fl ying multirotors, the assembly videos may not even be necessary, but it is always nice to have some sort of reference if the need might present itself. The online videos do not make any mention of cleaning up the frame pieces to avoid any wires shorting out. I feel it is important to note that I did spend a good

As I tend to do with most multirotor machines, upon arming the motors, I punched the throttle and let the Naza-M V2 do the rest. The Hex-treme 550 took off like a rocket and at about twenty feet, I eased back allowing it to settle into a stable hover. To confi rm that I had per-formed the “Naza dance” compass calibration procedure correctly, I took my hands off of both sticks. Even with some moderate winds buffet-ing the machine, it stayed right where I put it in the sky. Bear in mind that this was done while in GPS fl ight mode as the compass has no real effect in manual or attitude mode. Once I was sure that the GPS mode was behaving as expected, I began some slow cir-cuits around my local fl ying fi eld at RC Hobbies and More in Winsted, CT. At close range, it was easy to gain orientation of the 550, but I had yet to really open it up. Once satisfi ed that all control systems were working properly, I launched the hex another hundred feet or so to attempt some high speed runs. Again, the vertical prowess of this aircraft is amazing, especially considering the smallish 8x5 props being used for our test fl ights. At such an altitude, I was ready and willing to give it some full cyclic commands to see what this machine was capable of. Initial rollout was awesome as the 550 lurched in whichever direction I chose to point it and while I did have the gains set at a good deal above the default values (something my 3D thumbs were begging for), the machine remained perfectly stable through all of my abuse. It was a bit harder to gain the orientation of the craft while at such speeds and altitude, but with a thousand feet of wide open space in just about every direction, I was not worried about any mishaps; especially given the fact that the Naza V2 had my back. Future fl ights will probably feature our machine outfi tted with some sort of fi ns on the aft landing legs to make fi guring out orientation a little easier. The MaxAmps 5450mAh battery provided us with just about 10 minutes of fl ight time, but I had the cutoff values set fairly high as we were dealing with some abnormally cold temperatures on the day of our testing. I’m sure we could have safely squeezed out a few more minutes with this pack, but there is plenty of lateral room within the battery box to fi t another pack in there, wiring it with a parallel connector. MaxAmps also offers custom packs built exclusively for mul-tirotors, featuring huge capacities while remaining short in stature. As was aforementioned, the kit that we received for review was still using the shorter battery box confi guration. All newer kits will have an expanded box allowing for bigger batteries.

IN THE AIR

PILOT REVIEW I HEXTREME 550 FPV HEXACOPTER

TRANSMITTER

Hitec Aurora 9x (192258)

RECEIVER

Hitec Maxima 9 Channel (27525)

FLIGHT CONTROLLER

DJI Naza-M V2

GIMBAL

Tarot T-2D (TL68A08)

CAMERA

GoPro Hero3 Black edition

(CHDHX-302)

BATTERY

MaxAmps 5450mAh 14.8v

120C 4S LiPo

PROPELLERS

Gemfan Carbon 8x5

CW, 8x5 CCW

deal of time rounding certain edges down while covering others with medium-sized nitro fuel line. The one nice aspect of the dou-ble deck frame design is that it makes hiding messy bundles of wire very easy.

ASSEMBLY TIPS

• The sandwich style frame means that many of the wires involved with the elec-tronics will be passing between diff erent layers. It is a good idea to smooth out the edges of each opening that will house any wiring. Be sure to always wear a mask when sanding fi berglass or carbon fi ber.

• For FPV, the build videos are spot on, but for a gimbal-mounted recording device, a few minor adjustments must be made in order to fl y the 550 in “I” formation to keep the legs of the landing gear out of frame.

• Bundle and restrain the wiring for the power cables and ESCs prior to a empting to install the ba ery box. Having the wires out of the way expedites the build process greatly.

• When a aching the ba ery box to the main frame, install all of the retaining nuts on the screws using only your fi ngers in order to keep the long screws from falling out. Remove each nut one at a time and tighten loosely onto the frame until all nuts are in place.

THE LAST WORD

The vast array of 500mm-class multirotors on the market today allows the buyer many options to choose from, but if you’re in the

market for something to hang a camera off of while still having power to spare, the Hextreme 550 Hex might very well be the best fi t for you. The eRC motors and ESCs really push this machine faster and farther than most other comparable platforms available. The alloy and fi ber-glass construction looks great and provides a rigid platform to mount all the necessary components as well as a few peripherals. The front of the 550, when fl own in “V” confi guration, off ers a narrow window of unobstructed view for a gimbal mounted camera, but the FPV mounting plate is up

off of the frame off ering full view. If a gimbal is to be mounted, the 550 should most likely be set up in “I” confi guration, requiring a li le bit of switching some arms and motors around, but is easily accom-plished. If you might be in the market for an aerial camera rig that has power to spare, the Hextreme 550 Hex might be just what the doctor ordered. �

CONTACTS

DJI INNOVATIONS empirerc.comGEMFAN gemfanhobby.comGO PRO gopro.com

HITEC hitecrcd.com

HOBBY EXPRESS hobbyexpress.com

MAXAMPS maxamps.com

TAROT tarot-rc-heli.com


The upper deck of the main frame has ample room for mounting whatever electronics you might choose to fi nish off the hex build. Notice the compass mast is mounted off of the main frame should you choose to use the included acrylic dome canopy.

The Tarot T-2D two-axis brushless gimbal holds the Go-Pro Hero3 camera in perfect balance, ensuring that any captured shots or video will be jello and wobble-free.

The lower plate of the main frame also doubles as a distribution board, featuring pre-soldered ESCs from the factory, thus expediting the build process. The vast array of wiring is all tucked neatly and out of sight above the battery box once it is mounted.

We Used


www.multirotorpilotmag.com


GO PROFESSIONAL CUSTOM XTREME CASES

PRODUCTSPOTLIGHT

by Erick Royer


Do you love the new DJI Phantom FC40 or Phantom 2 Vision? We certainly do! So it was only natural that we wanted to give it the best “home” we

can when transporting it from place to place and storing it when not in use. Enter the Phantom P2 case from Go Professional Xtreme Cases. Don’t glance over the “Xtreme” in the company’s name, because this case is most defi nitely extreme; both in design, durability and functionality. When you transport your Phantom, you have to bring the copter, charger, transmitt er, batt eries, tools and spare parts. It is a lot to tote around. The Phantom case is completely and precisely water jet-cut to exacting tolerances so you can ensure the FC40 or Vision fi ts perfectly with no movement. The foam also has compartments for optional FPV goggles, a charger, six LiPo batt eries, the Phantom’s transmitt er, four spare props and four “AA” batt eries as well as those for miscellaneous cables and tools. The custom foam is housed in a SKB case which is used by military and industrial leaders to meet exacting military standards.

The case itself measures 20.25 x 16.93 x 8.78 inches and weighs in at 13.15 pounds empty. Once your Phantom is safely nestled inside the case, nothing shy of a bulldozer running over it is going to aff ect your machine. Another nice feature of the case is that it meets all ATA carry-on requirements, so you can easily travel on airlines with your DJI Phantom. Of course if you have to check it with your luggage, you can rest easy knowing that it will be protected from the common abuse that luggage takes from airlines and airports. The Phantom FC40/Vision case, like all of those made by Go Professional Cases, is made in the U.S.A. and comes with a lifetime warranty. Price–$198.00 �

CONTACTSGO PROFESSIONAL CUSTOM XTREME CASES goprocases.com


DJI Phantom FC40

80 MULTIROTOR PILOT

by Gene Payson

Multirotors are excellent aircraft for small farm areas up to a few hundred acres per crop. They are easy to use and provide excellent aerial information. Since they can fl y autonomously, they do not require a lot of operator skill. The information

which comes from aerial imagery is extremely helpful in many circumstances. Simply seeing all the same type of crop at one time in one image from the sky using a standard daylight camera can be very revealing. The information gathered helps the farmer determine how best to run their business. Aerial imagery helps determine which areas of a farm are the most and the least productive for a particular crop. If a particular area grows certain crops poorly, then a business decision must be made as to how to improve that area through the use of pesticides, fertilizer, water, etc. If the remedy is cost justifi ed then it should be performed. If the remedy cannot be cost justifi ed, then other actions can be taken, such as crop rotation or not planting the area in the future. Multirotors typically have short fl ight times of 10-40 minutes, which is less than fi xed wing aircraft , so they are good solutions for smaller areas. Larger copters can lift a camera(s) more easily than a smaller copter, so larger copters off er bett er fl ight times. A typical camera system is a NIR (near infrared) camera and a daylight camera. Some operate both cameras simultaneously to reduce the fl ights required. Maxmax upgrades many off -the-shelf cameras to operate in the NIR spectrum. Maxmax also off ers soft ware to stitch the photos together and to evaluate the crops. Tetracam off ers high-end cameras and soft ware as well. The NIR camera is most important because healthy plants refl ect more NIR than unhealthy plants. The diff erence is observed through NIR way before the naked eye can see a diff erence visually. The advantage of using the NIR image is to determine problems early so that corrective action can be taken before any permanent damage is done. NDVI is the index used to determine the health of a plant. I encourage you to read up on NVDI if you are unfamiliar with it. Even daylight camera images are quite useful. From the air, it is very easy to see an area where the plants are not as large and vigorous as other areas. From the ground, it can be much more diffi cult to determine areas of less healthy plants. It is imperative that the multirotor operator be trained, though training of completely inexperienced people takes only a few hours. An

operator must practice for several hours before att empting to use the aircraft commercially. It is important to operate safely to protect your investment and avoid injury to yourself and others. Dozens of companies off er unmanned aircraft available for precision agriculture. The prices range dramatically, so shopping around is helpful. Multirotors have many other uses in smaller areas so having a platform that is fl exible may be benefi cial to you. Search-and-

rescue, situational awareness, surveys, accident investigation, radiation detection, noxious gas detection, security and other uses require diff erent sensors. Some of these sensors are larger and heavier than others, which is another reason to obtain the largest aircraft that your budget will allow. There are no laws which govern the use of drones at the moment. The FAA is writing laws now. Until the laws are writt en, the FAA requests that people not use drones for commercial purposes. Rules should be available by the end of 2015. We expect that the rules will be more lenient on small copters. �

PHOTO COURTESY OF AERIAL PRECISION AG (VIA THE WEB)

PH

OTO

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Y O

F A

RC

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IAL

(VIA

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Multirotors for Precision Agriculture

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC NEWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gene Payson is the Director of Flight Training at the Unmanned Vehicle University. He specializes in hands-on pilot training courses which are performed on a variety of fi xed wing and multirotor aircraft. He also assists students in obtaining employment in the UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) fi eld through contacts made on UAVcomparisons.com, UAV recruiters and LinkedIn. Gene is also involved in non-military/commercial applications but will occasionally fl y for the Air Force as an outside contractor.

Multirotor Source GuidePlease check with your local hobby store to fi nd products reviewed in Multirotor Pilot Magazine. Additional sources are listed below.

3D Robotics7170 Convoy Ct.San Diego, CA 92111Phone: (858) 225-1414Fax: (858) 605-4541www.3drobotics.com

Atlanta HobbyPhone: (678) 513-4450 www.atlantahobby.com

Blade Distributed by Horizon Hobby4105 Fieldstone RoadChampaign, IL 61822Phone: (800) 338-4639www.bladehelis.com

DJIPhone: (818) 235-0789www.dji.comEmail: [email protected]

E-fl iteDistributed exclusively by Horizon Hobby Distributors4105 Fieldstone Rd.Champaign, IL 61822Toll Free: (800) 338-4639www.e-fl iterc.comwww.horizonhobby.com

Eagle Tree Systems4957 Lakemont Blvd SESuite C-4 PMB 235Bellevue, WA 98006To Order: (888) 432-4744Information: (425) 614-0450Fax: (425) 484-4131www.eagletreesystems.com

Empire RC950 E Baseline Ave, Unit 210Apache Junction, AZ 85119Phone: (480) 982-0909www.empirerc.comEmail: [email protected]

EstesPhone: (719) 372-6565www.estesrockets.com

Fat Shark RC Vision SystemsDistributed by Ready Made RC7719 Graphics Way, Ste FLewis Center, OH 43035www.fatshark.comwww.readymaderc.com

FeiYu Techwww.feiyu-tech.comEmail: [email protected]

Flite Testwww.fl itetest.com

FutabaDistributed exclusively by HobbicoP.O. Box 9021Champaign, IL 61826www.futaba-rc.comPhone: (217) 398-3630Available at your local hobby store, or online at www.towerhobbies.com

GauiDistributed by Empire HobbyP.O. Box 50551Mesa, AZ 85208Phone: (480) 982-0909 Fax: (480) 456-1113 www.empirerc.com Email: [email protected]

Gemfanwww.gemfanhobby.comEmail: [email protected]

Go ProPhone: (888) 600-4659www.gopro.com

Go Professional Cases Inc.7888-B Ostrow StreetSan Diego, CA 92111Phone: (855) 223-2932www.goprocases.comEmail: [email protected]

Hitec RCD USA12115 Paine StreetPoway, CA 92064Phone: (858) 748-6948Fax: (858) 748-1767www.hitecrcd.comEmail: [email protected]

HobbicoP.O. Box 9021Champaign, IL 61826Phone: (217) 398-3630 www.hobbico.comAvailable at your local hobby store, or online at www.towerhobbies.com

Hobby Express5614 Franklin Pike CircleBrentwood TN 37027Phone: (866) 512-1444www.hobbyexpress.com

HobbyKingwww.hobbyking.com

Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Rd.Champaign, IL 61822Phone: (800) 338-4639www.horizonhobby.com

Immersion RCwww.immersionrc.comEmail: [email protected]

Leapfrogwww.lpfrg.com

LulzbotPhone: (970) 377-1111www.lulzbot.comEmail: [email protected]

Lynxmotion, Inc.Phone: (866) 627-3178Fax: (450) 420-1447www.lynxmotion.comEmail: [email protected]

MaxAmps.com1015 W Garland AveSpokane, WA 99205Toll Free: (888) 654-4450www.maxamps.comEmail: [email protected]

Next Level MultirotorsInnov8tive Designs, Inc.1495 Poinsettia Avenue, Suite 144Vista, CA 92081Phone: (760) 468-8838Fax: (760) 305-7749www.nextlevelmulti-rotors.com

Performance Hobbies15 W. Main St.Webster, NY 14580Phone: (585) 872-4990www.performance-hobbies.com

RC Loggerwww.rclogger.comEmail: [email protected]

RobotShopPhone: (866) 627-3178Fax: (450) 420-1447www.robotshop.com

SonyPhone: (212) 833-6849www.sony.com

SpektrumDistributed by Horizon Hobby4105 Fieldstone Rd.Champaign, IL 61822Toll Free: (800) 338-4639www.spektrumrc.comwww.horizonhobby.com

TarotBaili Road East Modou Xiaoqv 11-110132500 Wenzhou City Zhejian Chinawww.tarot-rc-heli.comEmail: [email protected]

Thingiversewww.thingiverse.com

Thunder Power RC4720 W. University Ave.Las Vegas, NV 89103Phone: (702) 228-8883Fax: (702) 228-8885www.thunderpowerrc.comEmail: [email protected]

Ultimakerwww.ultimaker.comEmail: [email protected]


Academy of Model Aeronautics ............................................ 44-45Altitude Hobbies ......................................................................... 78 Atlanta Hobby.............................................................................. 78 Blade .......................................................................................... 4-5 Castle Creations, Inc. .................................................................. 35 Eagle Tree Systems ..................................................................... 19 Empire Hobby ............................................................................... 9 Futaba .......................................................................................CV2 Go Professional Cases ................................................................ 11 Heli-Max ........................................................................................ 3Hitec RCD USA, Inc. .................................................................... 39

Hobby Express ............................................................................ 15HobbyKing .................................................................................CV3 Max Amps ................................................................................... 33RC Logger ................................................................................... 51 RobotShop Inc............................................................................. 25Spektrum ...................................................................................CV4 Summit Aerospace Supply, Inc. .................................................. 58 Twisted Hobbys ........................................................................... 69 Walkera ........................................................................................ 69 Windsor Propeller ........................................................................ 69 XHELI ............................................................................................. 7

MULTIROTOR ADVERTISER INDEX

82 MULTIROTOR PILOT

by Matt Maziarz

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of sitt ing

in traffi c has surely dreamt of the day when the daily commute would be greatly expedited by the advent of fl ying cars. Such daydreams may also be born from one’s affi nity for old Jetson’s episodes. The engineers at E-Volo are looking to make that dream a reality with their invention, the VC200, or volocopter. They describe their aircraft as a revolution in aviation as it is a personal helicopter that is easy to fl y and produces zero emissions; not to mention the fact that it negates any observance of the obligatory stop sign or red light! The main design of the VC200 was introduced in 2011 with the concept machine named the VC1. This machine featured a 16-rotor platform mounted on four arms that had an overall diameter of 17 feet from one opposing prop to the other. The entirely electric design garnered a Lindberg Prize in 2012, awarded for innovation and to promote meaningful advancements in green aviation. At this point, the engineers and designers set themselves some goals in as far as producing a machine that practically anyone could fl y, that produced zero emissions and provided a safe environment for the two people in the cockpit. The concept of the early VC1 evolved into an 18-rotor beast that is largely constructed of alloys and carbon fi ber. Constructed by DG Flugzeugbau (DG aircraft construction) at their factory in Bruchsal, Germany, the VC200 is capable of sustained speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour, a fl ight ceiling of more than one mile, a maximum take-off weight of 450 kilograms and a maximum fl ight time of one hour. The idea of having so many rotors for one aircraft might seem redundant,

but that is exactly the point in this instance. The employees of E-Volo placed pilot safety as their top priority. Bearing this in mind, by using 18 rotors, the aircraft is more than capable of remaining in fl ight or at the very least, landing safely, should any one, two or even three of the drive motors fail. The prospective pilot is also greatly aided by the VC200’s on board avionics system. Generally speaking, the machine is capable of semi-autonomous fl ight by programming GPS waypoints into the computer. It also allows the pilot to control the craft with litt le other than a joystick. There are no foot levers for pitch or yaw; everything involving course direction is all generated by the slowing down or speeding up of the correct motor or motors on the multirotor. So let us recap. The VC200 is entirely electric, producing zero emissions. It is easy to fl y and places pilot/passenger safety above all else. It aims to revolutionize the way that we travel, at least for short distances anyway, though I am sure

that someone locked in a lab somewhere is coming up with a long range version of a similar machine. My only question for the ingenious engineers and designers at E-Volo is exactly when can we expect to be receiving our own VC200 for review at the magazine? �

RETURN TO HOME

CEO and chief designer, Alexander Zosel (right) stands proudly with drive development engineer, Thomas Senkel (left) within the frame-work of their ground breaking invention. Not pictured is the third wizard behind the idea of the VC200, software engineer, Stephan Wolf.

An early test shot of the fi rst fl ight using a remote control to fl y the machine results in celebratory cheers from the designers and their staff.

multirotor pilot v1

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